Kyrie: LeBron passing MJ 'nothing short of legendary'
LeBron James tossed yet another career milestone into his rucksack full of them Thursday night, passing Michael Jordan for first on the all-time playoff scoring list in the same game he led his Cleveland Cavaliers to their third straight Finals berth, and the seventh straight Finals trip for him personally.
After James passed Jordan with a 3-pointer in the third quarter, Kyrie Irving approached him on the bench to shout a few words into his teammate's ear.
"I told him not to take the moment for granted," Irving said after the game. "Passing MJ in scoring, that's an iconic moment. What he did for the culture, and honestly for the game of basketball, is nothing short of legendary. And I wanted him to enjoy it. He always shows great humility for all his accomplishments, but this one was one he really wanted. I'm glad he's accomplished it."
James' Game 5 masterpiece Thursday night - 35 points on 13-of-18 shooting, eight rebounds, eight assists, three steals, one block, and a plus-36 rating - was the culmination of a magisterial run through the Eastern Conference. During the Cavs' 12-1 run through to the Finals, LeBron has averaged 32.5 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, 2.2 steals, and 1.4 blocks, while shooting 56.5 percent from the field and 42.1 percent from 3-point range. That he's doing all this his 14th NBA season, after crossing the 50,000-minute threshold for his career, has made it just that much more inspiring to his teammates.
"He's been the driving force this whole entire playoff run, and all of us have just really helped him along the way, just being the teammates that we're supposed to be," Irving said.
"As much criticism as the guy takes, he just continues to perform, and continues to come back and come back, again and again and again. And that's the echo of greatness. And when you're around that, you have a choice: Either you can kind of sit back and just watch and observe, or you can pick your game up as well. ...
"I'm just eternally grateful to have a guy like that."