LeBron James broke the NBA record for most regular-season games played, taking the court for the 1,612th time in the Los Angeles Lakers’ last-gasp 105-104 victory against the Orlando Magic.
The 41-year-old basketball icon’s appearance eclipsed the mark of 1,611 held by Robert Parish since his retirement in 1997.
Orlando led 104-102 with three seconds left, but a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Luke Kennard rescued the Lakers to make it nine consecutive victories. Los Angeles improved to 46-25 to tighten their grip on third place in the Western Conference.
Four-time NBA champion James finished with 12 points, six rebounds and four assists.
Luka Doncic led the Lakers with 33 points but picked up a 16th technical foul of the season, which triggers a suspension that will rule him out their next game against the Detroit Pistons tomorrow (HK time).
Austin Reaves finished with 26 points on 10-of-20 shooting.
James, playing in an unprecedented 23rd season, already holds a host of NBA records, including points scored, field goals made and field goals attempted and the longest streak of regular-season games with at least 10 points scored – 1,297 – in history.
James said his preparations for this latest record-breaking performance had been no different to the previous 1,611 games. Breaking the record is “a pretty cool thing,” he added.
“The best thing you can do for your teammates is to be available and I’ve tried to be available throughout my career, two decades plus, for my guys,” James said.
Including playoffs, James has amassed a total of 1,904 games during his career. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is a distant second with 1,797.
In Houston, Kevin Durant scored 27 points, helping the Rockets edge the Miami Heat 123-122 and taking him past Michael Jordan’s 32,292 career points, good for fifth place on the all-time list.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
