During a dominant 129-101 road victory over the Golden State Warriors (31-29) on Saturday night, LeBron James accomplished a significant milestone by sinking his initial four 3-point attempts. This feat elevated him to become only the second player in Los Angeles Lakers (35-24) history to successfully convert 1,000 3-pointers for the franchise.
The 41-year-old James now stands alongside Kobe Bryant as the sole players in the team’s storied past to have reached this particular achievement.
Here are the five players with the most Lakers 3-pointers all time:
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1) Kobe Bryant: 1,827
2) LeBron James: 1,002
3) Derek Fisher: 846
4) Nick Van Exel: 750
5) Byron Scott: 595
James’ four 3-pointers in the first half against the Warriors on Saturday marked his highest single-half total this season. He concluded the first half with a game-leading 20 points and finished the contest with 22 points, 9 assists, and 7 rebounds, contributing to the Lakers breaking their three-game losing streak.
In the second half, Luka Dončić, who celebrated his 27th birthday on Saturday, began to unleash 3s, knocking down four triples early in the third quarter. He wrapped up his celebratory day with 26 points, 8 assists, and 6 rebounds. Austin Reaves also added 18 points.
The Warriors quickly fell into a double-digit deficit in the first quarter. Without Kristaps Porziņģis, who remains sidelined due to “illness,” and Stephen Curry, still recovering from a right knee injury, Golden State found itself unable to keep pace with a Lakers team that collectively made 19 of 41 attempts from beyond the arc.
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Curry’s absence extended to his tenth consecutive game.
“I’m feeling better. This is a weird one,” he told ESPN’s Malika Andrews during a mid-game interview on Saturday. “It’s kind of unpredictable how it would heal, but every day since All-Star week has been progress. That’s all I can ask for, and hopefully I’m back out [there] soon.”
When Andrews inquired about his reevaluation scheduled for Sunday, Curry conceded that his return would “be a little longer” than initially expected.
“I haven’t gotten on the court yet,” he said. “But just trying to stay in shape, strengthen everything else around my body, knowing that, at this stage, once you get back, it’s kind of a full sprint to the playoffs. So once I get back on the court, it is a little bit of a pain tolerance thing, but it’s just something that you don’t want to have lingering because it can get worse.”
As for James, he has maintained his health since missing the initial 14 games of the season due to sciatica.
He is currently in his eighth season with the Lakers, having initially joined in 2018. However, his contract is set to conclude at the end of the 2025-26 campaign, which will mark his record-breaking 23rd season in the league.
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James has amassed a career total of 2,618 3-pointers, including 1,251 during his time with the Cleveland Cavaliers.