🔗 Share this article

The Lakers star knew his monumental run of putting up 10+ points was at risk. At the decisive instant, however, he wasn't bothered.

The correct basketball play meant distributing the basketball – and he executed. With that selfless act, his remarkable run was over.

LeBron's astounding run of over 1,200 straight NBA regular season outings scoring at least ten concluded on Thursday night, when the league's career points king finished with eight total points during the Los Angeles Lakers' close triumph versus the Toronto Raptors. He made the decisive pass, feeding Rui Hachimura for a three-point shot as time expired.

“Zero,” James said after being questioned on the record concluding. “The team got the victory.”

An Unselfish Decision Delivers Victory

He might have sought to clinch the contest – and preserved the streak – with the last shot, yet he opted to dish the ball to his teammate stationed in the corner. Hachimura made the shot, with LeBron exulted immediately.

It's about playing basketball the proper way. Make the right play,” James noted. “That’s just been how I operate. It's how I was taught the game. That's what I've done my whole career.”

He is very conscious of his point total he has during a game,” commented Lakers coach JJ Redick. “He did it just as he has throughout his career.”

The Streak's Closing Chapter

He returned to the floor for the final time with just over five minutes left, the win and his personal record on the line. His tally was six points on a 3-for-15 performance at that juncture.

He scored at under two minutes remaining to level the contest and missed a mid-range jumper at one minute to go that would have taken him to ten points.

He didn’t take another shot – but could have. A teammate found him in the waning seconds, yet LeBron opted to dish it off instead of shooting.

The spirits of the game, if you do it the right way, they will repay you,” the coach concluded.

Reflecting on a Monumental Run

James's streak started on Jan. 6, 2007. It was, by far the greatest such streak the league has ever seen: MJ previously held a streak of 866 consecutive games with 10+ points, Kareem had 787 such games, and Karl Malone had the fourth-longest run of 575 games.

LeBron is such an unselfish player,” noted teammate Jake LaRavia.

“He’s just playing the game of basketball. He could have shot but because of who he is on the court and his personality as a person, he chose the team play, dished to Hachimura and we won the victory.”

Scoring in double figures was usually a guarantee long before the final period. Over the course of the record, he had achieved the 10-point mark entering the fourth over twelve hundred times coming into the contest.

However, two of those rare single-digit games after three periods had happened in the last week: He had nine entering the final quarter against Dallas on 28 November, and then had six going into the fourth versus the Suns earlier in the week.

LeBron was able to keep the streak alive against the Suns. One game later, it concluded – and he celebrated anyway.

“I always just make the correct play. That is instinctive, no matter what,” James affirmed. “You make the right play, the sports deities are always rewarding me.”