Porzingis still in awe of LeBron, happy to return the favor on dunk originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington

WASHINGTON — LeBron James made history at Capital One Arena on Saturday night by passing Karl Malone for second on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, but Kristaps Porzingis found a couple ways to spoil it. For one, he took over in the fourth quarter to score 16 of his 27 points to lead the Wizards to a comeback victory.

He also caught James with a two-handed dunk in the fourth quarter. It may not have been a direct hit, but it was a poster dunk nonethless. Porzingis, in fact, had been waiting for an opportunity to return the favor.

“He’s never gotten me clean. One time, I was kind of passing by and he dunked and then I was in the picture but I wasn’t really contesting it,” Porzingis said.

“He posted that picture [to Instagram] and said ‘fresh legs’ or whatever. I was like ‘okay, I see.’ But yeah, he’s one of the greatest to play the game and it’s all respect.”

That post doesn’t exist anymore, as LeBron’s page only goes back to 2018, right after he signed with the Lakers. That is despite the fact he has thousands of posts on his feed.

So, we’ll have to take Porzingis’ word for it. Regardless, Porzingis says that play was a good sign he’s getting close to being 100 percent after recently missing a month due to a bone bruise in his right knee.

Porzingis made sure to give due deference to James, who received a standing ovation from Washington fans in the second quarter after passing Malone in the record books. Porzingis, like the rest of us, is amazed James is still one of the best players in the NBA at 37 years old.

James had a game-high 38 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in the Lakers loss.

“He had another milestone, which is incredible. We have to appreciate him while he’s here and still playing and putting up those kind of numbers and playing at this level, which is absolutely out of this world. Hat off to him and what he’s been able to do in his career,” Porzingis said.

Porzingis doesn’t post to Instagram nearly as often as James does, but perhaps he can return the favor after first getting him back on the court.