Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is one of the greatest basketball players of all time and he is consistently respected as such. The NBA legend has the record for the most points scored in a career, although LeBron James is fast approaching as he is just 3,020 points behind. It could take LeBron a couple of more seasons before he reaches the record, and fans are excited to see it happen.
Understandably, one might assume that Kareem would see things differently. You never want to see your records get broken, especially by the younger generations. Despite this, Kareem takes a different approach to his record. While speaking to Marc Stein, the Lakers legend noted that he is looking forward to LeBron's next achievement and that he even hopes he's there to witness it.
Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Turner Sports
"I'm excited to see it happen. I don't see records as personal accomplishments, but more as human achievements," Kareem said. "If one person can do something that's never been done, that means we all have a shot at doing it. It's a source of hope and inspiration. Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile back in 1954. Since then, not only have 1,400 runners beaten that time, but the new record is 17 seconds less. We all win when a record is broken and if LeBron breaks mine, I will be right there to cheer him on."
Just like Kareem, LeBron is considered to be one of the greatest to ever do it, and if he reaches the scoring record, he will have yet another accolade on his Hall of Fame resume. No matter what happens, both of them are cemented in basketball history.
Harry How/Getty Images
[Via]