OPINION | Joy Drop: King James and his family warm the heart | CBC Sports

This week has been full of highs and some joy emerging from tragedy. 

We start with the undisputed king of basketball — LeBron James. The L.A. Lakers star surpassed NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s career scoring record on Tuesday. James scored his 38,388th point during the third quarter in a game against Oklahoma City Thunder with his family — and Abdul-Jabbar — looking on. 

In a moment at centre court, LeBron thanked his wife, Savannah (they were high school sweethearts), and said, “She is the real MVP.” His wife later said of LeBron: “You are the hardest-working person I know!” It was wonderful to witness this moment in history for this family and for basketball.

Kirk Goldsberry and Vanna Bushong created an animation that shows the trajectory of each basket made by James throughout his NBA career, from his first in 2003 to the record-setter this week. The court in the animation changes throughout the years to reflect the team that James was playing on at the time of each point scored. These graphic artists and digital creators have given us something spectacular. I have watched it at least 20 times.

Speaking of records, here’s a lovely little story that went a little under the radar. On Monday night, Toronto Raptors’ star Pascal Siakam and his foundation, PS43, attended a Raptors 905 game to help break a Guinness record of wearing capes to benefit kids with disabilities. Siakam and 2,854 Raptors 905 fans wore red capes in support of a worthy cause; to raise awareness for the Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital. The event was a success! 

As part of a continued celebration of Black History Month, the Toronto Six, along with the Black Girl Hockey Club Canada and Athleta, are hosting an event at their game against the Montreal Force on Sunday, Feb. 12 at the Canlan Ice Centre. Come out and show your support! Tickets are available via the Toronto Six ticketing website.

On episode two of CBC’s Being Black in Canada program Friends and Allies, Canada Basketball’s Kayla Alexander and Nicole Murphy talk about how they bonded over their height and went on to co-found Tall Size, a clothing company for tall women. It’s a great feature and Alexander is one of my favourite Canadian athletes. This peek into her relationship with Murphy brings me joy. They don’t shy away from talking about issues of race and why supporting each other is so crucial. Their friendship brings me joy. 

This weekend is the 57th NFL Super Bowl and features Kansas City vs. the Philadelphia Eagles. I am not an NFL fan but I am a HUGE Rihanna fan. And I will absolutely be eating Buffalo chicken dip in anticipation of her halftime performance.

Lastly, although I am not an American football fan, I enjoy the hullabaloo about Super Bowl menus. Here is a delicious list of Food & Wine magazine’s 57 BEST Super Bowl recipes.

My youngest son loves Gordon Ramsey and so I share with you this video on Super Bowl recipes. Have a wonderful week! And if you care about the Super Bowl, I hope your team wins!