LeBron James scored 23 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and handed out 11 assists Thursday night in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 108-89 Game 2 win against the Toronto Raptors, moving past Shaquille O’Neal into fourth place on the NBA’s all-time Playoff scoring list.
All-Time Greats. #ThisIsWhyWePlay pic.twitter.com/dxGqsjr0OD
— NBA (@NBA) May 20, 2016
Speaking of legendary big men: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was in the building, and congratulated LeBron for leading the Cavs to a 10-0 postseason record.
A little video from back at the @cavs pic.twitter.com/ETVz8LUUxz
— Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (@kaj33) May 20, 2016
James said prior to Game 2 that Shaq is the most dominant player he’s ever seen.
Per the NEOMG:
James isn’t usually one to admire his accomplishments – at least not in the moment – but at some point it’s safe to assume he’ll appreciate passing Shaq, who’s waiting for James to pass him at 5,250 points. […] Why? Because on Thursday James said I think in my lifetime (Shaq is) probably the most dominant basketball player I’ve ever seen.”
“I admired what he was able to do out on the floor by pure force and dominance, his ability to play at that speed, to have that size and to carry that type of force that he had,” James said after Cleveland’s shootaround, in preparation for Game 2 of the East finals against Toronto.
James and O’Neal of course played together for one season in Cleveland, in 2009-10, when O’Neal coined the phrase “ring for the King.” It didn’t pan out. […] James didn’t get into his brief time playing with O’Neal, rather discussing how it was difficult for James to emulate him because at 7-1 and 325 pounds, O’Neal was a different kind of player than, well, everyone.
