Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Lakers superstar LeBron James makes NBA history in return to Cleveland

By Mike Santa Barbara | Last updated 11/25/23

LeBron James made another return to Cleveland on Saturday, but this time, he left with an NBA record.

Only days after passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the first player in history to reach 39,000 career points, James topped the Hall of Famer again. The Los Angeles Lakers star took 23 shots against the Cleveland Cavaliers, helping him overtake Abdul-Jabbar (28,307) for the all-time lead in field goal attempts (28,316).

LeBron James has passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most field goal attempts in NBA history. #NBA | #LakeShow pic.twitter.com/vYSorkDWV7
— Basketball Reference (@bball_ref) November 26, 2023

The Lakers (10-7) outlasted the Cavaliers (8-8) 121-115 while James contributed 22 points (8-of-23) with six assists, six rebounds, two blocks and two steals.

Saturday marked the 21st time James has played against the Cavaliers. Unsurprisingly, the Cavaliers have been worse without James than with him. Following Saturday's win, James is now 18-3 against his former team, breaking a two-game losing streak. Even less shocking, James has played well versus Cleveland. Through 20 meetings, he is averaging 29 points, eight rebounds and seven assists while shooting 55% from the field and 61% from beyond the arc, per Stathead.

Despite breaking their hearts twice, James is seemingly in the universally beloved stage of his relationship with the Cavaliers and their fanbase. The Cavaliers pulled out all the stops ahead of their matchup with the Lakers, even playing a tribute video for James on the jumbotron.

The Cavs played a video tribute showing various scoring milestones LeBron James achieved in Cleveland, culminating with a celebration of him becoming the league’s all-time leading scorer with the Lakers pic.twitter.com/HYR6WM6RZ6
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) November 26, 2023

If that wasn't enough, the Cavaliers faithful gave James a standing ovation fit for a king during player intros.

A standing ovation for LeBron tonight in Cleveland

Lakers-Cavs | Live on the NBA App
https://t.co/2OCkxKHR2l pic.twitter.com/WbCCiZZWc0
— NBA (@NBA) November 26, 2023

The response from Cavaliers fans and the love shown by the organization for James is more than warranted. After all, James is still the franchise leader in points (23,119), rebounds (6,190), assists (6,228), steals (1,376) and three-pointers (1,251). Oh yeah, he also broke that pesky 52-year NBA Championship drought.

More must-reads: