Sorry to disagree with you, Bill Plaschke, but you are old enough to know better. Trying to name a basketball GOAT is like trying to name the best automobile ever made — you just can’t. Each basketball era has its own “greatest” list, and you can’t really compare the game as it was played, the rules as they were, the competition and makeup of teams as they stood, or the individual players from generation to generation, at least not without a whole lot of qualification to equalize the comparison. Numbers are numbers. They do not represent the entirety of any one player’s impact on a team or on the game overall.
Right now, of course it’s LeBron James. But what about Stephen Curry’s impact on the game? Or Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabber — there’s a “GOAT” case for each of them in their own time and in their own ways. And what about Shaquille O’Neal, Julius Erving, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Oscar Robertson and George Mikan?
And by the way, if you’d read what Kareem had to say about giving up his record, you couldn’t make such a negative statement about his on-court ceremonial passing of the ball to LeBron.
Barry Bauling
Calabasas
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In yet another losing performance, LeBron James set a new NBA scoring record. He may have passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in scoring but never in humbleness, class and team play.
Kent M. Paul
Costa Mesa
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If you assign two points for field goals and one point for free throws, after Tuesday’s game, Kareem has 38,386 points (he loses one of his 38,387 points) and LeBron has 36,153 points. By the way, using the same math, Karl Malone has 36,843 points.
No question about it, Kareem is the GOAT.
Brian Lipson
Beverly Hills
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I was disgusted by LeBron when he broke Kareem’s record. As soon as he scored his 36th point, it was all about him. He soaked in the adulation while his team lost. He scored only two more points while his team lost. He took himself out while his team lost. He made sure to make his way over to get interviewed while his team lost.
I didn’t read one of The Times articles on him the next day. It’s all LeBron all the time and The Times “buys” into it.
Steve Gonzales
Irvine
Wonder how many points Kareem would have scored had he been able to go to the NBA directly from high school as was the case with LeBron? My guess would be another 3,500 points over four seasons.
Joe Cohen
Mar Vista
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Raise a glass to honor LeBron, but let’s not forget the real objective of Lakers basketball: winning a championship.
Mark Mallinger
Malibu
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LeBron James has surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s career NBA scoring record. But has he been named NBA Finals MVP at age 38, written acclaimed history books and articles about important social issues, or co-starred in a movie as funny and brilliant as “Airplane!”?
Stephen A. Silver
San Francisco
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In all the speeches and rhetoric after the feat, LeBron did not once mention they lost a game they needed to win. He has made it official that no matter what he says it is all about him and not his team.
Flora Perry
Los Angeles
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Can we as Lakers fans set aside the negative chatter for a moment? LeBron broke what many thought was an unbreakable record. Give the man his due!
Russell Hosaka
Torrance