Lakers News: Stephen A Smith Belittles LA After LeBron James’ 40K-Point Night

During your Los Angeles Lakers’ latest disappointing 124-114 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Saturday, All-Star LA forward LeBron James raced past the 40,000-point career regular season scoring mark, now far eclipsing former Hall of Fame Lakers center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s 38,387 regular season points mark that had been prior record for over three decades.

It was sadly just the latest moment in recent vintage where an historic Los Angeles incident has been clouded by a defeat, as ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith noted during a signature “First Take” rant.

“Didn’t mean that much to me because he’s [been] so phenomenal and he’s [been] so great over the course of his illustrious career,” Smith said. “Here’s the one thing that tarnishes it, Shannon… They open the season against the Denver Nuggets, a loss. The night that Kobe [Bryant]’s statue was unveiled, a loss. If I remember correctly [Smith did], the night that he surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to becoming the all-time leading scorer [in the regular season], a loss.”

“Every time [they’ve broken a record recently], they also recorded a loss, and that is what I don’t like,” Smith added. “But again for LeBron, it’s just the latest in an absolutely miraculous and stellar career.”

“I’m ticked off at the rest of the Lakers who find a way to lose during these moments,” Smith said. “I’m not blaming him for that, because he’s played [well] in these moments. They haven’t!”