MVP candidate Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics has set a record in the All-Star Game of the North American professional basketball league NBA.
The Tokyo Olympic champion scored 55 points in Salt Lake City to lead Team Giannis Antetokounmpo to a 184-175 victory over Team LeBron James. The previous record was held by James’ colleague Anthony Davis from the LA Lakers (52 points).
“It means the world to me,” said Tatum, who picked up the Kobe Bryant trophy for player of the game after the game. He commemorated all of the “legends and great players who make this game”. At the same time, the four-time Allstar put it into perspective: “Records are there to be broken. I’m sure in a few years someone will come and try to break this record.”
“King” James, who recently replaced Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the best scorer in NBA history, now shares this record with Abdul-Jabbar with his 19th appearance on the big show stage, but went in six for the first time years as a loser from the place. The four-time champions only played the first half due to an injured wrist and scored 13 points.