In a 136-115 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday, the Los Angeles Lakers, led by NBA scoring leader LeBron James, reached yet another remarkable milestone in his legendary career.
After scoring a three-pointer in the first quarter in front of an adoring home crowd at Crypto.com Arena, the future Hall of Famer became the first player in NBA history to reach 50,000 points in both the regular season and playoffs.
Having scored 41,837 points during the regular season (first all-time) and 8,162 points in the playoffs (first all-time), for a total of 49,999 points entering Tuesday night’s game, the four-time NBA MVP needed just one point to complete the feat.
When speaking with Spectrum SportsNet after the game, James was very forthright about reaching the 50,000-point barrier.
“I won’t sit here and try to hide the fact that it’s a lot of points,” the four-time NBA champion declared.
Over my career, I’ve been fortunate enough to play in the top league in the world alongside some of the greatest players in the world, so being able to rack up that many points is truly an honor.
With 34 points to lead the team and push his career total to 50,033, James had a great game.
With 5,000 points remaining, no player in league history has ever come close to 50K. In terms of career scoring, Hall of Fame center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is second all-time with 44,149 points, just behind LeBron James.
Kevin Durant of the Phoenix Suns is the closest active player to the mark with 35,225 points following Tuesday night’s 119-117 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.
James, now in his 22nd year as a professional basketball player, continues to be a top player in the league. He leads the Purple and Gold with an average of roughly 25 points, eight rebounds, and over eight assists per game.
The veteran forward, who turned 40 years old earlier this week, averaged 29.3 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 6.9 assists in February, earning him the title of Western Conference Player of the Month. He continued his NBA record of 41 monthly accolades, becoming the oldest player to do so.
Even though he is getting down to the latter stretch of his career, James has proven time and again that he is one of the best players of all time. In 2023, James broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record for scoring in a single season and continued his dominance in the NBA, becoming the first player to achieve 40,000 points in his career later that same season.
While playing with his son Bronny James earlier this season, the four-time Finals MVP became the first father-son duo to ever play on the court together in an NBA game, an accomplishment that further solidified his remarkable longevity in the game.
Among James’ many achievements since being picked first overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003 are four NBA championships and a record-breaking 21 All-Star appearances.
Thanks to James’s outstanding performance and the trade for superstar Luka Dončić in February, the Los Angeles Lakers have been the most exciting NBA club for the last two months. A seven-game winning run is the longest for the Lakers since 2021, and they have won 17 of their past 20 games overall.
The Lakers’ incredible streak has propelled them to the position of second seed in the Western Conference following their victory on Tuesday.
