The date was January 25, 2020. 

It was a mild, forty-degree winter evening in the City of Brotherly Love. However, for basketball fans, this was no ordinary Saturday night. My dad and I drove over the Walt Whitman Bridge and onto Packer Avenue right into the heart of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex.

It was mobbed. And for a good reason, too. 

The Los Angeles Lakers only come into town once a year, for just one contest at the Wells Fargo Center each season. And this season, that means the Superstar-duo of Anthony Davis and LeBron James pay Philly a visit on this January evening.

After we finally got through an unbelievable amount of traffic and found a parking spot, my dad and I headed toward the arena’s entrance. However, there was one thing that we didn’t exactly envision in our minds beforehand would be there as we approached: An incredibly lengthy line of of a few hundred fans was formed right in front of the main doors leading into Philly sports’ signature restaurant, “Chickie’s & Pete’s” inside of the arena. But, luckily for my dad I, we had left ourselves plenty of time and gotten there early, so we didn’t mind the wait.

Of course, I absolutely needed to get myself some of those iconic “crab fries”, as for me personally, it’s part of the authentic “stadium experience”. So, I shelled out the exorbitant, almost laughable amount of money for a cup of french fries, and headed up the escalator to my seat in ‘Section 202’.

Now, on the basketball side of things. Time to “zero in” to this marquee matchup.

The Sixers were coming into this contest significantly short-handed, missing two of their five regular starters, in Joel Embiid and Josh Richardson— both out with injuries. Therefore, with this in mind, 6’10” point guard Ben Simmons consciously knew that he had to step up even more than usual and have a big-time performance.

Fortunately for the 76ers, Simmons was up to the challenge on this night, dominating on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball from the get-go.

Sixers’ Forward Tobias Harris also came to play on this night. Harris led Philadelphia in points with a solid 29 on fifty percent shooting, and Simmons chipped in 28 of his own, while also just shy of a triple-double.

However, the NBA history made during this ballgame came from the Lakers’ side. 16-time All Star LeBron James came into the game on the fringe of a brand new accolade. James trailed world-renowned shooting guard, Laker-legend, Kobe Bryant by 17 points for 3rd on the NBA’s all-time total points list.

LeBron scored 14 points in the first two quarters, meaning he needed just four points in the second half to surpass Kobe Bryant’s 33,643 career point total.

And, just about 4 ½ minutes into the 3rd quarter, James drove aggressively toward the basket and scooped in a contested layup over the outstretched arms of two Sixer’ defenders.

Normally, a layup like this was just yet another basket for LeBron.. just the usual stuff. He does it countless times each game. However, this layup in particular, was different from the rest. 

This was the bucket that officially gave LeBron James more career points than Kobe Bryant.

Just a few short minutes later, the 76ers called a timeout, and an exclusive list popped up on the enormous Jumbotron screen in the arena. This list showed the names and point totals of the top 10 highest scorers in NBA history.

LeBron’s name appeared prominently at the #3 spot on the list, with at that point in the game, 33,644 total points.

With many Lakers fans in attendance, as well as Philadelphia fans, the arena erupted with cheering, and James received a standing ovation from well over 20,000 people.

Nevertheless, despite LeBron’s individual success and new accolade, the Lakers still found themselves trailing by 18 points at that point in the 3rd quarter. As Tobias Harris, Ben Simmons, and others continued to find success scoring, the Sixers held onto their lead firmly and kept their foot on the gas pedal.

And just when Philly’s lead seemed to start slipping away, Al Horford picked up the slack with three clutch baskets late in the 4th quarter.

The Sixers went on to win 108-91, taking down the red-hot Lakers in the first of only two matchups between the teams each season. And in this game, greatness was on display from both LeBron James, individually, and the 76ers, collectively.

The two teams will face off for the next time in downtown Los Angeles at the Staples Center on Tuesday, March 3, 2020.