LeBron James is currently leading the NBA universe with his own hands. But some legends do appreciate his hidden skills as well.
During the 2023 All-Star celebrations in Salt Lake City, Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson met Karl Malone, the iconic former Utah Jazz power player who played one disastrous season with the Los Angeles Lakers.
The two addressed LeBron James breaking Kareem Abdul-all-time Jabbar’s regular season scoring record of 38,376 points, as well as the other outstanding aspects of the legend’s game during his 20th NBA campaign. Malone’s regular-season point total of 36,928 places him third all-time.
Karl Malone on LeBron James: “I think his defense is underrated.”
More from our chat over the weekend at @BallySports ➡️ https://t.co/d4dF0RJSmW pic.twitter.com/zuraOMpEB5
— 👑 Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson (@ScoopB) February 23, 2023
The big man threw some of his point of view on LeBron James by saying, “What he [does] with the ball, the passes, the vision, yes body-wise, the things he’s doing [are] amazing,” Malone exaggerated. “What people don’t realize [is] yes, he’s number one in scoring, but he’s number four in assists as well [all-time].”
The Hall of Famer of Utah Jazz also added on James, “And his defense is underrated. It’s so crazy. I know I’ve played against LeBron, once with the Lakers, but I don’t even remember… much other than that, other than you just knew he was going to be special. I don’t think that record, and I don’t think the assists record… I’m going to say those two records will never be broken.”
A 19-year NBA veteran, Malone won 14 All-Star and All-NBA awards, was named league MVP twice, and was named to the All-Defensive Team four times. He made three trips to the NBA Finals, the last one with that Los Angeles team, but he was never able to bring home a championship. A 6’9″ center, he has career averages of 25 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game.
