NBA: LeBron James beats Kobe Bryant as third highest scorer | NBA 2019

The Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, the city of Bryant, stands to cheer for the forward, which failed to avoid defeat (108-91).

The game stopped at 7:23 for the end of the third quarter and the Wells Fargo Center dedicated a thunderous ovation to LeBron James. The forward of the Lakers becomes the third highest scorer in the history of the NBA with 33,644 points, which exceeds Kobe Bryant and is only behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387) and Karl Malone (36,928). However, the evening ended with another defeat for the leaders of the West (108-91), the third in the last six games.

The tribute of Bryant in his shoes (Mamba 4 Life) left in evidence the deep admiration of James, who also super this historical record in the hometown of the escort. His 29 points, eight assists and seven rebounds were not enough on this occasion against Sixers led by Ben Simmons (28 points, 10 rebounds) and Tobias Harris (29 points).

James's 33,655 points may add 6,911 of the accumulated in the playoffs, where he played eight consecutive Finals with the Heat and the Cavaliers between 2011 and 2018. “I respect my brother a lot,” Bryant commented on Twitter, where he underlined that James continues to carry basketball “higher and higher”.

Always above 25 points

In his sixteenth season in the NBA, James, 35, averages 25.2 points in 44 games. Since his debut, all by 2003, he has never come down from that 25-point barrier, although he himself did not seem to attach much importance to the achievement and rather he was overwhelmed by the warmth of the Sixers fans.

“This has been too much. I can only say that I am here in the uniform of the Lakers, in the city where he was born,” he said. Much more explicit was his technician, Frank Vogel, in defining what was experienced as “a great historical moment for our franchise and for LeBron himself.”

Brett Brown, coach of the Sixers, had just shown himself shortly before the game. “He does everything with class and despite success he doesn't seem to blink. He has an impeccable character, life and behavior. He may be the best player in basketball history,” Brown said.