LeBron James passed Allen Iverson on the NBA all-time scoring list on Sunday and now he’s reached another benchmark, this time setting a record as he passes Scottie Pippen for most assists by a forward.
James’ pass that led to a Kevin Love 3-pointer with 6:26 remaining in the second quarter gave James five assists on the night and 6,136 for his career, passing Pippen’s mark of 6,135. James finished the night with a game-high 11 assists.
LeBron has always preached unselfishness in the game and reveled in efforts garnering a new accomplishment.
“It means way more than what I did passing Allen Iverson on Sunday,” James said. “I’ve always took a lot of pride and I get more of a rush seeing my teammates succeed more than myself. And that’s what an assist is all about. I was taught the game the right way and seeing my teammates succeed has always been something that I’ve cared about more than anything and that’s what it’s all about.”
James grew up watching the Chicago Bulls in their heyday and wears No. 23 because of Michael Jordan. But he was also influenced by Pippen.
“When I started to shape my game, I kind of knew that that point forward was something that was going to be my trademark,” James said. “Obviously I looked up to Michael Jordan, that’s someone that gave me a lot of inspiration, but as a kid I never thought that I could get to that point. You know, Jordan just felt so surreal. Pippen and Anfernee Hardaway and Allen Iverson was those guys that I kind of really, really thought that I could be. Because MJ just felt like you could never catch him as a kid. I always just felt like he was so far in the distance.”
After the game, LeBron took to his Instagram account and said the new feat is “right at the top with winning a championship.”
*photo in gallery above*
