LeBron on tape
LeBron James now has more NBA field goals than any other player, topping Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. More importantly: I and you and everyone you know watched basketball scores from LeBron James than any other player we've ever seen, and probably by a lot.
Those protesting my postulating may claim they haven't watched an NBA contest since 1998, they've still seen more LeBron James scores than anyone else, they can't argue, they just have.
They can promise they were around for every field goal from Michael or Kareem or Kobe or (if they've wasted their life) Malone, but anyone who has been around a bar or basketball game or both since 2003 has witnessed (sorry) more LeBron buckets than any other baller. In the same sense that we've all probably watched more episodes of 'Law & Order' than any other show. Not because we're No. 1 L&O fans, but because episodes go on for a LeBron-like 44 minutes per outing and because holy shit that show was on TNT all the time back when we all had TNT.
Maybe an AV freak taped and watched every single one of Dirk Nowitzki's Texas-sized 11,169 career NBA field goals, not moved. I taped every Bulls game after Jordan returned to the Bulls and had League Pass during his stint with the Wizards, I sat in the den as a kid and watched Jordan on SportsChannel, in high school I eschewed all those teeming date requests (notes, calls, free classifieds, babes wouldn't leave me alone) to watch the Saturday night WGN games. Seen a lotta Mike, still seen more LeBron.
LeBron James has 3650 more NBA buckets than Michael Jordan. It ain't the three-point line or the disparate pace but the Tivo, something I acquired right after LeBron James' rookie season. Plus the ability (for 20 years now!) to re-watch games on the NBA's website. Maybe you didn't miss a second of someone else's NBA career, congratulations, LeBron James' image is still what our brains were told NBA baskets look like, thousands of time over. Jumpman, Jerry West, doesn't matter, James connects to the noggin more than any other avatar.
His greatness was only matched by media's zeal to ensure we zipped up every minute. Thank you, satellites, for these streams and beams.
