Cleveland Cavaliers small forward LeBron James made history with a left-handed dunk in 107-100 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center Monday night.
With the Cavaliers (3-1) leading the 76ers by an 88-77 count with eight minutes left in the fourth quarter, backup point guard Matthew Dellavedova worked the ball up the floor and lofted an alley oop pass toward the hoop for James. James threw down the left-handed dunk and in doing so, became the 20th, and youngest, player in NBA history to reach the 25,000-point mark.
"I was just going to go about the game playing the game the way I'm accustomed to playing and see what happens," James said. "I've been able to stay healthy in my career, and I've been able to play in two great organizations and also, incredible teammates and coaching staffs that allow me to be the best player I can be every night, and this is the result of it.
"The Man Above definitely put his stamp on it. What better way to close it in than me high-flying a little bit, so the Man Above definitely reached out and touched me on that one.
Following the accomplishment, James was given a standing ovation from the Philadelphia fans.
"To be able to do it in winning fashion, No. 1, with this group of guys, doing it in a building that loves the game of basketball, and obviously, they're Sixer fans to death, but they know and they respect the game of basketball, to get a standing ovation after achieving that milestone, it was very special," James said.
James' Cavaliers teammates and coaches realized how special the moment was when Philadelphia fans, known for their ardent passion for their home teams and their tough-mindedness against opponents, rose out of their seats to salute the accomplishment.
"I think that's a beautiful thing," Cavaliers coach David Blatt said. "Now, Philadelphia is a sports town, much like Cleveland, and I think they know how to appreciate their athletes and greatness, whether it be the home team or away team. I think that's really a special thing they did for 'Bron, and by the way, the NBA is full of records, but that's an extremely important, extremely impressive record-breaking moment for LeBron.
"To be the youngest player in the history of the game to score 25,000 points, particularly when you're every bit the passer that you are the scorer is just a testament to his greatness, and I thought it was wonderful the way that the Philadelphia fans recognized it and all his teammates recognized it. That was one of those great moments you remember because that was special."
Power forward Kevin Love added, "He deserved it. Twenty-five thousand points, youngest player to ever do it, you don't see that. You just don't see that. It's unbelievable."
James led the Cavaliers (3-1) to the victory with a near triple-double of 22 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds to go along with the four steals and two blocked shot he registered in 33 minutes of play against the 76ers (0-3).
Monday's milestone was just the latest in a career full of history-making moments for James.
During his first seven years in Cleveland, James was a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player, six-time All-Star starter, and two-time NBA All-Star MVP, a four-time All-NBA First-Team Selection, 26-time NBA Player of the Week and 15-time NBA Player of the Month.
James is the Cavaliers' franchise single-season leader in points scored (2,478 in 2005-2006), minutes played (3,388 in 2004-2005), field goals attempted (1,823) and made (875 in 2005-2006), free throws attempted (814) and made (601 in 2005-2006), and scoring average (31.4 points per game in 2005-2006).
During his first 548 games with the Cavaliers, James set franchise records for the most points scored (15,251), scoring average (27.8 points per game), field goals made (5,415) and attempted (11,403), free throws made (3,650) and attempted (4,917), three-pointers attempted (2,344), steals (955), minutes played (22,119) and turnovers (1,802).
In addition to his regular-season statistics, James entered last season as the Cavaliers' franchise leader for points scored (2,081), scoring average (29.3 points per game), assists (520), field goals made (690) and attempted (1,504), steals (117), free throws made (594) and attempted (800), three-pointers made (107) and attempted (339), defensive rebounds (500), total rebounds (598) and minutes played (3,086) during the postseason.
In his first season back in Cleveland, James averaged 25.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 7.4 assists, and 1.6 steals over 36.1 minutes in 69 regular-season games. He shot 48.8 percent from the field, 35.4 percent from three-point range and 71.0 percent from the free-throw line.
During the postseason, James had to carry much of the load on the offensive end of the floor after power forward Kevin Love suffered a dislocated left shoulder in Game 4 of the opening-round series against the Boston Celtics and point guard Kyrie Irving, who was already hobbled by a pair of leg injuries, fractured his left kneecap in Game 1 of the NBA Finals at the Golden State Warriors.
In leading the Cavaliers back to the playoffs for the first time in four years and the NBA Finals for only the second time in franchise history, James averaged 30.1 points, 11.3 rebounds, 8.5 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.1 blocks over 42.2 minutes in 20 postseason games.
"I just knew that I could play the game of basketball, and I knew I was smart," James said of his career to this point. "I had a basketball IQ at a young age, and I was an historian of the game. I used to read about the game. I used to talk about the game. I used to watch the game. To know what I was actually going to do on the floor, that was up to me, and I put in the work. I will continue to put in the work while I'm able to lace them up every night."
