{"id":159423,"date":"2025-09-17T23:44:38","date_gmt":"2025-09-18T03:44:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=159423"},"modified":"2025-09-17T23:44:38","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T03:44:38","slug":"lebron-james-reflects-50k-record-cctv-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/09\/17\/lebron-james-reflects-50k-record-cctv-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"LeBron James Reflects On 50K Record In CCTV Interview"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Los Angeles Lakers forward <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jamesle01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">LeBron James<\/a> isn\u2019t just a run-of-the-mill superstar. Of course, that\u2019s an oxymoron in and of itself. Nevertheless, he\u2019s truly a larger-than-life basketball prodigy who\u2019s earned every bit of his respect and acclaim. Even with <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/05\/09\/lebron-james-update-retirement-plan\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">retirement around the corner<\/a> for the 40-year-old, he has everyone\u2019s attention.<\/p>\n<h2>LeBron James Reflects On 50K Record In CCTV Interview<\/h2>\n<p>James isn\u2019t the first NBA player <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nba\/story\/_\/id\/46209907\/lebron-james-write-op-ed-appeared-chinese-state-media\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">to write an op-ed piece<\/a> for China\u2019s state-run People\u2019s Daily newspaper after all. Even so, the man that they call \u201cxi\u01ceo hu\u00e1ngd\u00ec\u201d (translated as \u201cThe Little Emperor\u201d) did recently sit down with China Central Television (CCTV). In that <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/KqIqnLTmMKo?si=WZ_f68OMP69x0X4P\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">relatively brief interview<\/a>, James discussed the mindset that\u2019s led to him the NBA\u2019s throne. With that in mind, one the four-time NBA MVP\u2019s greatest accomplishments was becoming the first player <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/03\/04\/lebron-james-legend-50k-points\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">to score 50,000 career points<\/a>, playoffs included.<\/p>\n<p>Musing about that moment, he says: \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s about the record. I just think it\u2019s a microcosm of my career, of my hard work and dedication to my craft, and my love for the game.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Lebron on scoring 50K last year and what that meant to him:<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t think it&#8217;s about the record, I just think it&#8217;s a microcosm of my career, of my hard work and dedication to my craft and my love for the game&#8221; <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/FFTXXRBYCR\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/FFTXXRBYCR<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Oh No He Didn&#8217;t (@ohnohedidnt24) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ohnohedidnt24\/status\/1968503466977833160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">September 18, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI put so many hours into trying to be the greatest,\u201d James says, \u201c(sic) the best I always \u00a0want to become and the best I could become. And that moment is an indication of that \u2014 of hard work paying off. So, it\u2019s always pretty cool when you can have those moments that show the work does pay off.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s now been sixth months since the 21-time All-Star notched 50,000 career points in the Lakers victory over the New Orleans Pelicans. A year from now, he\u2019ll have likely added <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/09\/17\/lakers-lebron-james-historic-record-breaking-season\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">a couple more feathers to his cap<\/a>. The easiest will be becoming the first person to play in the NBA for 23 seasons. If he can step on the floor at least 50 times in 2025-26, he\u2019ll also become the league\u2019s<a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/leaders\/g_career.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> all-time leader in games played<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>He even has a fair chance to move to third <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/leaders\/ast_career.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">in career steals<\/a>, surpassing Hall of Fame guard and Dallas Mavericks head coach <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/k\/kiddja01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jason Kidd<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>The King\u2019s Focus<\/h3>\n<p>James isn\u2019t one to take his place in NBA history for granted. He has a reverence for those that came before him and a deep respect for his peers. However, it\u2019s possible that none of the aforementioned achievements would mean as much to him as winning his fifth NBA championship.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_146047\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-146047\" style=\"width: 2560px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-146047\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/06\/IMG_7123-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/06\/IMG_7123-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/06\/IMG_7123-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/06\/IMG_7123-1024x683.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/06\/IMG_7123-768x512.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/06\/IMG_7123-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/06\/IMG_7123-2048x1365.jpeg 2048w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/06\/IMG_7123-600x400.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/06\/IMG_7123-1200x800.jpeg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-146047\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oct 11, 2020; Lake Buena Vista, Florida, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) holds up the MVP and Finals trophies after game six of the 2020 NBA Finals at AdventHealth Arena. The Los Angeles Lakers won 106-93 to win the series. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In fact, if there was an avenue to him winning back-to-back titles, he would likely strongly consider it. Not only would he be able to tie icon and idol <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jordami01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Michael Jordan<\/a>\u2019s ring count, he\u2019s be able to bring his NBA Finals record to 6-6. With that being said, him having a sub-.500 Finals record is the only eyesore on his resume.<\/p>\n<div class=\"modal-image-setImageMetadata\">\n<p class=\"ng-binding\">\u00a9 Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James isn\u2019t just a run-of-the-mill superstar. Of course, that\u2019s an oxymoron in and of itself. Nevertheless, he\u2019s truly a larger-than-life basketball prodigy who\u2019s earned every bit of his respect and acclaim. Even with retirement around the corner for the 40-year-old, he has everyone\u2019s attention. LeBron James Reflects On 50K Record [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":159445,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[26,1608,62,3],"tags":[218,38,607],"class_list":["post-159423","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lakers","category-basketball","category-nba","category-news","tag-jason-kidd","tag-lebron-james","tag-michael-jordan"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159423","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=159423"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159423\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":159446,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159423\/revisions\/159446"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/159445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=159423"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=159423"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=159423"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}