James sets NBA appearance record in late Lakers win
LeBron James set the record for the most regular-season games played in NBA history as he helped the Los Angeles Lakers to a dramatic buzzer-beating 105-104 victory against the Orlando Magic in his 1,612th outing. James, 41, moved one clear of Robert Parish's 1997 record of 1,611 appearances, in a game the Lakers won when Luke Kennard scored a three-pointer with 0. 6 seconds left.
"It just kind of happened. It was not on the list of things that I wanted to accomplish," said four-time NBA champion James. "I wanted to be the best player in this league at some point.
I wanted to be one of the greatest, if not the greatest, to ever play this game. I wanted to be an NBA champion. "I wanted to possibly win rookie of the year, make All-Star appearances, win a gold medal, win some MVPs - those were some of my goals.
"But some of the stuff that's just been happening over the course of the last few years has been super-duper cool. " James - who is the first player to take part in 23 consecutive NBA seasons and is also the NBA's record points scorer - contributed 12 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals as the Lakers beat Orlando for a ninth straight win. The Lakers are third in the Western Conference, while Magic are eighth in the Eastern Conference.
"Availability, I've always wanted to be available to my team-mates," added James. "It's a mental toll, trying to play a lot and being out there. I just give a lot of praise to the man above and [it's about] just loving the game and appreciating the game.