LeBron James passes Michael Jordan as No. 1 all-time playoff scorer

LeBron James’ first playoff points came on a driving layup against the Washington Wizards in the opening quarter of the 2006 NBA playoffs.

Nearly 6,000 postseason points, thousands of made shots and more than 200 playoff games later, James is the NBA’s all-time leading playoff scorer.

He passed Michael Jordan for the top spot with a three-pointer with 2:41 remaining in the third quarter against the Boston Celtics in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals on Thursday.

"I’ve always told you guys, anytime I’m linked to any of the greats, even the greatest in Mike, it’s just an honor,” James told reporters Thursday morning. “It’s a tribute to what I’ve been able to do with this game.”

James entered the game needing 28 points to pass Jordan. He finished with 35 points, eight assists and eight rebounds, and the Cavaliers won in a 135-102 rout.

“If you’re able to pass Michael Jordan on this kind of stage, in this playoff magnitude, it just means LeBron's been doing a lot of winning,” Cavs coach Ty Lue said. “He’s been advancing, been playing well. He’s been to the playoffs a lot. It’s a tribute to him and hard work."

Yes, Jordan needed fewer games than James (179 to 212). But James also reached his point total with fewer field goal attempts (yet more free throw attempts) than Jordan.

While Jordan has a slightly better playoff three-point percentage than James, James has a higher percentage on two-point shots. In this season’s playoffs leading up to Game 5 against Boston, James averaged 32.2 points and shot 55.4% from the field, including 40.6% on threes, in 12 games.

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James is a different kind of scorer. He has a special blend of size, strength, speed and skill that gives him scoring opportunities from inside and outside. But he doesn’t view himself as a points machine.

“I’m not a scorer,” James said. “I don’t want to be labeled as a scorer. I can put the ball in the hoop. I’m a playmaker. I’m a player. You put me on the court, and I’ll find ways to be successful.”

While he takes a lot of shots given his unique skillset, he’s not a typical high-volume shooter and has taken four fewer shots per playoff game than did Jordan did.

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“When you talk about scorers, you have a lot of great scorers in our league, all-time guys who shot a lot of shots, volume shooters and scored the ball at a high clip. I’m not one of those guys,” James said.

“I’m a guy who always got happy and excited of seeing my team successful, of seeing my individual teammates be successful. And that’s how I felt in Game 4 with Kyrie (Irving) doing what he did.”

To that point, James is No. 2 in steals, No. 3 in assists and No. 7 in rebounding on all-time playoff lists, illustrating a complete game that has made him one of the best players in NBA history.

Follow USA TODAY Sports' Jeff Zillgitt on Twitter @JeffZillgitt