King LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers became the first player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) to reach 5,000 career steals.

James’ 32 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists led the Lakers to a 122-119 victory over the Phoenix Suns at Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona, on Monday (Nov. 11). James added four more steals on the night to become the first player in NBA history to surpass 5,000 career steals.레모나토토

James surpassed the mark for the first time in two years, having surpassed Karl Malone’s record of 4,524 in 2021. Malone committed 3.1 steals per game, while James committed 3.5. Only Russell Westbrook (Los Angeles Clippers – 4469) trails James’ record among active players, committing 4.1 mistakes per game.

In addition to James, Malone, and Westbrook, there are six other players in NBA history with more than 4,000 career steals: the retired John Stockton (4244), Kobe Bryant (4010), and Jason Kidd (4003). What they all have in common is that they were league leaders in minutes played during their active careers.

In fact, James is making NBA history not only in terms of steals, but also in terms of career scoring. After surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record of 38,387 points in February, James is on pace to become the first player in NBA history to reach 40,000 points.

In the Korean Basketball League (KBL), Seo Jang-hoon, nicknamed “National Treasure Center,” has the most steals with 1,620. That’s 2.4 steals per game. But he’s also the KBL’s all-time scoring leader with 13,231 points. In addition to Seo, there are only four other players in KBL history to have more than 1,500 steals: Busan KCC coach Lee Sang-min (1,555), Johnny McDowell (1,554), and Wonju DB coach Kim Joo-sung (1,551).