Will Cherry (185-PG-1991, college: Montana) is a 32 year old 185cm point guard from Oakland, California playing his ninth professional season and third in Germany and first with the MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg. He previously also played with Alba Berlin and the Fraport Skyliners. Overseas he also garnered experience suiting up for teams like B.C. Zalgiris Kaunas (Lithuania-LKL), Gaziantep Basketbol (Turkey-BSL), KK Cedevita Zagreb (Croatia-Premijer Liga), Olympiacos S.F.P. Piraeus (Greece-A1) and Hapoel Yossi Avrahami Eilat (Israel-Winner League). He also played briefly in the NBA with the Cleveland Cavaliers and played in the G-League with Santa Cruz. He began his basketball career at / McClymonds High School and then played at the University of Montan (NCAA) from 2009-2013. He spoke to germanhoops.com about his ex teammate Lebron James becoming the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.

Lebron James has beaten Kareem Abdul Jabbar’s NBA all-time scoring record. Did you stay up to watch history?

No I didn’t, I was asleep. I didn’t get a chance to witness it live, but I saw all the highlights when I woke up.

How does one put this record into perspective best? It stood almost 40 years?

It’s a testament to him being able to have such a long career and break the record despite never being labeled as a scorer. He has been consistent his whole career and been doing things at his age consistently that no one has ever done. He is the ultimate professional. He was dubbed the chosen one coming out of high school and carried it on his shoulders until today.

He scored 38 points in 26 minutes. Was it another normal day at the office?

No I don’t think so. I saw all the pictures of when he arrived. He came in black. It was all business for him. He was going to make it happen that night in front of family.

How much is that ball going to be worth?

I have no idea, but I know that he has it. He will probably have it in his trophy case.

Russell Westbrook made the pass. Do you think that in 20 years the pass could be remembered more than his triple doubles?

Russ’s legacy is already cemented. Before he was traded he was a leading candidate for best sixth man award. He has had growing pains with the Lakers. It is a big adjustment playing with someone like Lebron that has the ball so much in his hands. He averaged triple double stats for multiple years and he has done things no other man has done. He will be a first ballot Hall of Famer.

His record breaking basket was a step back over Kenrich Williams. Is that the kind of shot you expected knowing the kind of player he is? Or would you have expected a dunk for the spectacular finish?

I don’t know. Many thought he would take the Kareem sky hook shot in his honor. He just took the best shot he could. I didn’t know what shot he would take, but I know that the shot will always be remembered in history.

There obviously is a lot of respect for Kareem, by the basketball world, but what would have happened on social media if Lebron had gotten the record with a sky hook shot?

Social Media would have blown up. Fans wanted to see a spectacular shot that would have set the world on fire.

Kareem is such a gentleman. You didn’t grow up with him, but what does his legacy mean to younger guys? Can they even understand what that guy did?

I think that if young guys know their history then they can know about his greatness. He took the game to another level with the show time Lakers with Magic Johnson. The Show time Lakers epic battles with Boston saved basketball at that time. Without him a guy like Jordan wouldn’t have been able to take it to another level. Kareem was at the forefront and is one of the most historic figures in basketball. He is the reason why the record didn’t get broken for almost 40 years.

Lebron will have more than 40,000 points when it’s all over. Back in 1984 people said it would never be broken? Will this record be broken?

I think his record will be broken. I think with the way the game has changed, it can be broken in the future. There are so many more possessions and way more three pointers.

If Luka Doncic continues to play to 40 stays fit and becomes a physical specimen like Lebron, could he dethrone him?

Yeh, but still I feel it’s impossible. He will never be a physical specimen. If he is able to play that long, he could break it just by how much of a scorer he is.

Does this record finally give Lebron the GOAT status over Michael Jordan?

Not to me. I think it’s a longevity award. Lebron played so long and has been in the league since he is 18. I feel like if Jordan had played as long or come to the league sooner, then he would of beaten the record a long time ago.

What is your favorite Lebron moment that you witnessed live or on TV?

My favorite moment was when I watched him on Tv when he beat the Pistons in the playoffs and scored something like 25 points in a row. He took game over. I was already a Lebron fan before that, but what he did was wild. I also loved when he dunked on Jason Terry.

Thanks Will for the chat.

Tags : WILL CHERRY, MHP RIESEN LUDWIGSBURG, GERMAN BASKETBALL