LeBron James celebrated making NBA history on Tuesday night by dropping an F-bomb on live television and in front of fans, following a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
James’ Los Angeles Lakers lost a home game to the Thunder in overtime. But during the shootout, he became the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.
The 38-year-old surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to take the record home, ending the game with a career of 38,390 points.
James celebrated the moment after the game with a not-so-graceful speech.
“I want to say thank you to the Laker faithful, you guys are one-of-a-kind,” James said. “To be able to be in the presence of a such a legend and great as Kareem, it means so much to me.”
Abdul-Jabbar was in attendance as the record he’d held for four decades was broken.
“It’s very humbling,” James said. “Please give a standing ovation to Cap, please.”
He continued his remarks, which were broadcast live on TNT.
“And to the NBA, to [commissioner] Adam Silver, to the late, great David Stern, I thank you guys so much for allowing me to be a part of something I’ve always dreamed about, and I would never, ever in a million years dreamt this even better than what it is tonight,” he said.
WARNING: The following video contains language some viewers might find offensive.
LeBron’s speech after passing Kareem ? pic.twitter.com/4beojjgLk7
— Lakers All Day Everyday (@LADEig) February 8, 2023
The self-described “woke” player, who is in his 20th season, wrapped up his brief comments by saying, “So, f***, man. Thank you guys.”
James was criticized for the way he handled the historic moment.
Call me a prude, but the luster of the moment was lost when Lebron dropped an F bomb on national TV with all my kids (and millions of others I’m sure) watching. Just not necessary.
— Keric Seegmiller (@KericSeegmiller) February 8, 2023
Lebron just lost a fan by saying the F Bomb on National TV. Show some respect @KingJames. That language isn’t fit for a “King”
— ∞ (@nicknbagenda) February 8, 2023
Wow the big moment and LeBron James drops a classless F bomb… SMH
— Phil (@philbo2011) February 8, 2023
James finished with another great stat sheet and, in this case, a record that is unlikely to be broken any time soon. He scored 38 points after shooting 13-20 and 4-6 from beyond the arch.
But like many other great James performances in recent seasons, his team still fell short — losing 133-130.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
