PHOENIX. On Sunday, LeBron James created a statistical category for himself by becoming the first player in league history to reach 10,000 points, rebounds and assists in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 140-111 loss to the Phoenix Suns.
“Now sitting alone in the statistical category in this league that I really modeled my game on: scoring ability, rebounding and assists,” James said after posting 31 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists against the Suns. “I’m sitting alone in the stats – it’s very similar to what I would say ‘cool’, but it’s not entirely clear to me.”
James set the record by passing Carmelo Anthony for a 3-pointer early in the second quarter, his second assist of the game and the 10,000th assist of his career.
“I am at a loss for words every time these things happen to me because of where I come from,” he said. “I automatically start thinking about my hometown of Akron [Ohio] and my upbringing and where I come from and my dreams of being in this league and playing at the highest level.”
James now has 36,824 career points (third all-time), 10,004 assists (seventh) and 10,150 rebounds (39th). He is within striking distance of passing Karl Malone for second place on the all-time scorers list this week if he continues to play on a sore left knee.
He walked out of the Footprint Center with a game ball tucked under his right arm, with the game date and stat milestone marked on the ball with a black magic marker.
“My teammates congratulated me after the game,” James said. “My mom texted me, I think at halftime, I saw it after the game.”
The achievement came during a crushing defeat in a losing season, a disappointing feature of the evening that James acknowledged.
“I’m honored to be a part of this league and no matter what happens this season, you’re trying to get the wins that happen in a long marathon,” he said. “And today it happened not only to me, but also to my family and friends.”