The King has passed the Black Mamba.
LeBron James overtook Kobe Bryant for third on the NBA's all-time points list during Saturday's game between the Los Angeles Lakers and 76ers in Bryant's hometown of Philadelphia.
James, who entered the contest needing 18 points to supplant Bryant, accomplished the feat with 7:22 remaining in the third quarter, converting a layup to give him 33,644 career points.
LeBron James gets to the bucket to move up to 3rd on the all-time scoring list! pic.twitter.com/almofNRKrg
β NBA (@NBA) January 26, 2020
The 35-year-old now trails only Karl Malone (36,928 career points) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387) for the all-time lead.
Prior to the historic contest, James paid tribute to Bryant by writing "Mamba 4 Life" on his shoe. The Lakers legend returned the favor, congratulating James on Twitter shortly after the latter's accomplishment:
Continuing to move the game forward @KingJames. Much respect my brother πͺπΎ #33644
β Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) January 26, 2020
Asked earlier this week to reflect on Bryant's impact on his career, James praised the future Hall of Fame guard.
"Seeing him come straight out of high school, he's someone that I used as inspiration," James said. "It was like, 'Wow.' Seeing a kid, 17 years old, come into the NBA and trying to make an impact on a franchise, I used that as motivation.
"He helped me before he even knew of me because of what he was able to do ... Kobe's a legend, that's for damn sure."
James finished the game with 29 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds in a 108-91 loss. Despite the defeat, Los Angeles still owns the Western Conference's best record at 36-10.
