(Reuters) – Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s long standing NBA record for most minutes played in regular season history when he clocked his 57,447th minute in his team’s win over Sacramento Kings on Thursday.
Abdul-Jabbar, a six-time NBA champion and six-time Most Valuable Player, finished his career in 1989 having played 57,446 minutes.
James, who turns 40 later this month, broke the record 10 minutes into the 113-100 win in Sacramento — the same team against which he made his NBA debut with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003.
“It’s just a commitment to the craft and to the passion and love I have for the game. I don’t take much time in the off-season. A little bit more time now,” said James, who has played over 1,500 games in his career.
“I didn’t take much time in the off-season, no matter if I was making the 10 Finals appearances back-to-back and just always trying to keep my body in tip-top shape.”
With nearly 12,000 minutes in the playoffs, James has spent nearly 70,000 minutes on court since he started his career. He is currently in his 22nd NBA season.
Last year, James also surpassed Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA’s all-time leading scorer and now has more than 41,000 points to his name.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Kate Mayberry)
Comments