James scribbled "Mamba 4 Life" as he chased Bryant, the five-time champion, in Philly. James scored the milestone basket with 7:23 left in the third quarter. James entered 18 points shy of passing Bryant, and the layup gave him 33,644 points. James stands third with 33,655. Bryant finished his career with 33,643, all with the Lakers.
"Continuing to move the game forward (at)KingJames. Much respect my brother (hash)33644," Bryant tweeted.
James waved to the Philadelphia crowd that gave him a rousing standing ovation when the mark was announced by the public address announcer. The Sixers also posted a graphic of the NBA's top 10 career scorers with images of James in Lakers and Miami Heat jerseys.
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The 35-year-old James entered averaging at least 25 points (25.2 ppg) for the 16th straight season and has played 44 games this season. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the NBA's career scoring leader with 38,387 points and Karl Malone is second at 36,928. James is on pace to pass Abdul-Jabbar in about three seasons. The top four scorers in NBA history played for the Lakers, who signed James as a free agent in 2018.
James passed Bryant in Philadelphia, where the retired Lakers star was born. James, who played in eight consecutive NBA Finals, has 6,911 postseason points with Cleveland and Miami that do not count in the official total.
James' magic number and Anthony Davis' 31 points weren't enough to help the Lakers.
Let the debate rage on which Laker was the greatest, The King or Black Mamba. But there's no denying that James, a four-time NBA MVP with a 3-6 career mark in the NBA Finals, now looms above Bryant on the scoring list.
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