LeBron James became the first NBA player to top 40,000 career points on Saturday, scoring 26 in a 124-114 loss to the Denver Nuggets at Crypto.com Arena, the Los Angeles Times reported. The NBA’s all-time records only include regular-season games, according to The Washington Post.
James, 39, needed nine points entering Saturday’s game to reach the record., according to Basketball-Reference.com. He moved into the 40,000 club 1:21 into the second quarter on a spinning left-handed layup, the Times reported. In addition to his 26 points, James had nine assists and four rebounds.
“No one has ever done it,” James told reporters Thursday about the milestone, ESPN reported. “And for me to be in this position at this point and time in my career, I think it’s pretty cool. Does it sit at the top of the things I’ve done in my career? No. But does it mean something? Of course. Absolutely. Why wouldn’t it? To be able to accomplish things in this league, with the greatest players to ever play in this league, the NBA, this has been a dream of mine and to hit feats and have milestones throughout my career, they all mean something to me.”
James entered Saturday with a career average of 27.1 points per game and reached 40,000 points in his 1,475th regular-season game, The Washington Post reported. He scored the first 10,000 points of his career in 368 games, and needed the same number of contests to go from 30,000 to 40,000 points, according to the newspaper.
NBA and Lakers great Magic Johnson tweeted video of the milestone basket, saying he was “so glad I was here to witness such an incredible feat!”
The next time play was stopped, the Lakers honored James with a video tribute and presented him with the game ball, the Times reported.
Congratulations to LeBron James for being the first and only player in NBA history to score 40,000 points! I’m so glad I was here to witness such an incredible feat! @KingJamespic.twitter.com/IdfjsrSLKJ
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) March 3, 2024
The 21-year veteran became the NBA’s all-time career scoring leader on Feb. 7, 2023, when he broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s 38,387 points during a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. He reached 39,000 points on Nov. 21, 2023 in an In-Season Tournament game against the Utah Jazz, according to The Associated Press.
James is also the NBA’s all-time playoff scoring leader with 8,023 points, the Post reported. Michael Jordan is second at 5,987.
No other active player has 30,000 career points besides James, ESPN reported. Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant is closest with 28,342 points, which puts him at No. 9 on the all-time list.
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Photos: LeBron James through the years Here are some memorable photos of NBA icon LeBron James through the years. (Harry How/Getty Images)
Photos: LeBron James through the years 2002: LeBron James of St. Vincent-St. Mary High School clenches his fists after making a shot against Oak Hill Academy at the Cleveland State University Convocation Center on December 12, 2002, in Cleveland, Ohio. (Tom Pidgeon/Getty Images)
Photos: LeBron James through the years 2003: LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Carmelo Anthony of the Denver Nuggets take a breather as the wait for play to resume November 5, 2003, at Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. (Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Photos: LeBron James through the years 2004: LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony of the United States receive the bronze medal for men's basketball during ceremonies on August 28, 2004, during the Athens 2004 Summer Olympic Games at the Indoor Hall of the Olympic Sports Complex in Athens, Greece. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Photos: LeBron James through the years 2005: LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers puts on a protective mask in his first game back since an injury to the face during their game against the Charlotte Bobcats on January 3, 2005, at the Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
Photos: LeBron James through the years 2006: Cleveland Cavaliers player LeBron James arrives at the 2006 ESPY Awards at the Kodak Theatre on July 12, 2006, in Hollywood, California. (Vince Bucci/Getty Images)
Photos: LeBron James through the years 2007: Co-host LeBron James arrives onstage in a throne during the 2007 ESPY Awards at the Kodak Theatre on July 11, 2007, in Hollywood, California. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Photos: LeBron James through the years 2008: Kobe Bryant and LeBron James of the United States celebrate during the medal ceremony after defeating Spain 118-107 in the gold medal game during Day 16 of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games at the Beijing Olympic Basketball Gymnasium on August 24, 2008, in Beijing. (Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
Photos: LeBron James through the years 2009: LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers gets to the basket for a first-quarter dunk while playing the Atlanta Hawks in Game One of the Eastern Conference Semifinals during the 2009 NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena on May 5, 2009, in Cleveland, Ohio. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Photos: LeBron James through the years 2010: LeBron James of the Miami Heat pose for photos during media day at the Bank United Center on September 27, 2010, in Miami. (Marc Serota/Getty Images)
Photos: LeBron James through the years 2011: LeBron James of the Miami Heat reacts against the Dallas Mavericks in Game Two of the 2011 NBA Finals at American Airlines Arena on June 2, 2011, in Miami. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
Photos: LeBron James through the years 2012: LeBron James of the United States celebrates winning the Men's Basketball gold medal game between the United States and Spain on Day 16 of the London 2012 Olympics Games at North Greenwich Arena on August 12, 2012, in London. (Harry How/Getty Images)
Photos: LeBron James through the years 2013: Rapper Jay-Z and Beyonce look over at LeBron James of the Miami Heat and the Eastern Conference during the 2013 NBA All-Star game at the Toyota Center on February 17, 2013, in Houston. (Scott Halleran/Getty Images)
Photos: LeBron James through the years 2014: LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers wears an "I Can't Breathe" shirt during warmups before his game against the Brooklyn Nets during their game at the Barclays Center on December 8, 2014, in New York City. (Al Bello/Getty Images)
Photos: LeBron James through the years 2015: LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers reacts after a play in the first quarter against the Atlanta Hawks during Game Four of the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2015 NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena on May 26, 2015, in Cleveland, Ohio. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Photos: LeBron James through the years 2016: LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers dunks during a game against the Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena on March 19, 2016, in Miami. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
Photos: LeBron James through the years 2017: LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers celebrates a second-half basket while playing the Indiana Pacers at Quicken Loans Arena on November 1, 2017, in Cleveland, Ohio. Indiana won the game 124-107. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Photos: LeBron James through the years 2018: LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers celebrates his three-pointer during a 104-96 win over the Indiana Pacers at Staples Center on November 29, 2018, in Los Angeles. (Harry How/Getty Images)
Photos: LeBron James through the years 2019: LeBron James of the LA Lakers and Team LeBron drives to the basket against Team Giannis in the first quarter during the NBA All-Star game as part of the 2019 NBA All-Star Weekend at Spectrum Center on February 17, 2019, in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
Photos: LeBron James through the years 2020: LeBron James of Team LeBron dunks the ball in the third quarter against Team Giannis during the 69th NBA All-Star Game at the United Center on February 16, 2020, in Chicago. (Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
Photos: LeBron James through the years 2021: LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts after his three-pointer in double overtime to lead the Lakers to a 135-129 win over the Detroit Pistonsat Staples Center on February 6, 2021, in Los Angeles. (Harry How/Getty Images)
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