A king deserves a royal court. Which is why on Tuesday night (Feb. 7), a galaxy of stars congratulated basketball legend LeBron James for becoming NBA’s all-time scoring leader when he broke Kareem-Abdul Jabbar’s three decade-long record. During a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Los Angeles Lakers’ home Crypto.com Arena, James passed Jabbar’s career total of 38,387 points after weeks of breathless anticipation of his crowning achievement and everyone from Rihanna to Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, Justin Timberlake and Bruno Mars gave him his props.
As soon as the dust settled — and Jabbar ceremonially handed over a basketball to the new scoring champ in a touching mid-court ceremony after LeBron scored his 36th point of the night on a step-back jumper — some of James’ biggest admirers took to social media to congratulate him on his epic feat.
In a compilation video from the NBA, Kendrick gave the new scoring sire high praise, saying, “From the time you went to the league when you had the doubters and the naysayers and people that think you wouldn’t take it this far you proved ’em wrong, dawg.” Upcoming Super Bowl LVII halftime performer Rihanna added, “I am so grateful to witness this moment in history… my favorite thing about being a LeBron James fan is just watching you prove yourself over and over again against all odds and all doubt. Thank you for repping for all of us. Keep striving for greatness always, and congratulations King James.”
Snoop Dogg modeled his Lakers jersey and said, “it’s always fun watching a Laker get it done.”
Drake called it a “legendary night in NBA history” in a video in which he appeared to be standing on a ball court in James’ hometown of Akron, Ohio. “To honor that I had to come back to the place that it all started… Every journey has its beginning,” Drizzy said as a green screen collapsed behind him, revealing that he was actually in a nightclub in Miami.
John Legend tweeted, “Congratulations @KingJames!!!! This man has been in the spotlight and burdened with the highest expectations since he was a teenager. And he’s done nothing but exceed those expectations and build a historic legacy. What an incredible accomplishment!,” while Bruno Mars offered up a champagne bottle emoji.
Timberlake tossed a GOAT emoji into a tweet in which he marveled, “on a step back too!,” while Wayne wrote, “Kongrats King!! Glad to say I’ve shaken your hand brudda. God bless you and the fam and the homies.”
Watch the video and check out some of the other congratulatory tweets below.