LeBron James tying and breaking records is child’s play at this point. There’s no telling how many more records he can call his own, as he’s still playing at an elite level at 40 years old.
However, James’ late-game heroism to get the Lakers the win just tied him with Kobe Bryant in one particular category.
LeBron James Ties Bryant for Second-Most Buzzer-Beaters
For context, James hit his eighth career buzzer-beater by hitting a put-back tip-in when the Lakers beat the Pacers.
LEBRON GAME WINNING BUZZER BEATER!!!!!!!!
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo)
By doing so, James has tied Bryant for the second-most buzzer-beaters by a player in NBA history, as noted by Yahoo Sports! X account. The record is also shared with Joe Johnson. However, the only player who has had more than those three is Michael Jordan.
LeBron is tied second for the most game-winning buzzer-beaters of all time with Joe Johnson and Kobe Bryant (8) 💪
Bron needs one more to tie MJ 👀 pic.twitter.com/sXVvzuEcNR
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports)
James and Bryant never played together in the NBA, but they did become Olympic teammates in 2008 and 2012. Sadly, they never became playoff rivals, as James got in the habit of consistently making NBA Finals starting in 2011, the year after Bryant was in his last – in 2010.
Two Of The NBA’s Greats
It shows how clutch both of these players were throughout their NBA careers. Both played in the NBA for 20 years and became two of the biggest icons the league has ever seen. Even more impressive is how non-identical their archetypes were to one another, yet they were praised for their excellence on both sides of the floor.
Perhaps what’s most interesting about comparing James and Bryant is that both are considered among the Lakers greats for how good they were as players. However, while James will go down as the better player between the two of them, Bryant will be remembered more as a Lakers legend considering he played his entire career for the franchise.
It’s funny how Jordan is the one player with more buzzer-beaters than James, seeing how they are constantly compared to each other in the conversation regarding the best NBA player of all time. On the one hand, this could serve as proof that Jordan is more clutch than James since he made more shots than him in fewer years.
However, on the flip side, James still making the clutch shots this late into his NBA career shows that as his game has aged like wine, so has his ability to hit clutch shots. As clutch as Jordan was, James proved he was clutch for longer.
Plus, there’s no telling how many more seasons James has to tie his idol. It wouldn’t be too farfetched to suggest that James could tie or even surpass Jordan when it’s all said and done.