As LeBron James approaches Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's NBA record of 38,387 points, the relationship between the two all-time greats has received more attention, especially given past criticisms from the former Los Angeles Lakers star.
ESPN's Michael Wilbon asked James about that relationship during an interview (4:15 mark) released Monday, and the King responded by saying, "It's all good. At the end of the day, we're a part of a franchise that's so historic in the game of basketball and means so much to so many people, not only here in Los Angeles but all over the world, that it just makes sense. It's kind of weird how the stars align."
James will enter Tuesday's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder a mere 35 points behind the all-time mark.
That contest and the following one against the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday are at home, so he will likely break the record in front the same Los Angeles fans who cheered for Abdul-Jabbar for so many years when he helped the Lakers take home five championships in the 1980s.
Yet Abdul-Jabbar has criticized James a number of times in the past.
Dave McMenamin of ESPN recounted some of the instances in April, including when the Hall of Famer criticized James for mimicking Sam Cassell's former celebration—"GOATS don't dance"—and for posting a Spider-Man meme with COVID-19, cold and flu all pointing at each other.
Abdul-Jabbar called it a "blow to his worthy legacy" since the "implication is that LeBron doesn't understand the difference among these three illnesses, even after all the information that's presented in the press."
He went on to say, "Absolutely, [I have] a higher expectation for him because he understands the issues and spoken to them quite forcefully and eloquently. I think he has so much going for him in terms of respect and accomplishment and he shouldn't stoop to those moments."
The big man even said, "some of the things he's done and said are really beneath him, as far as I can see. Some of the great things that he's done, he's standing on both sides of the fence almost, you know? It makes it hard for me to accept that when he's committed himself to a different take on everything. It's hard to figure out where he's standing. You've got to check him out every time."
Yet Abdul-Jabbar also expressed regret for his comments and pointed to his "deep admiration" of James:
It remains to be seen whether the two all-time greats will have a public interaction when James claims the scoring throne, but the current Laker star is "good" with where the relationship stands at this point.
