The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
LeBron keeps making history with 40,000th NBA point
LOS ANGELES — LeBron James reached 40,000 points Saturday night, still going strong in his 21st NBA season as he tries to put the career scoring record out of reach. James hit a layup with 10:39 left in the second quarter of the Lakers’ 124114 loss to Denver for the historic basket.
“Being the first player to do something, it’s pretty cool in this league, just knowing the history,” James said. “But for me, the main thing, as always, is to win, and I hated that it had to happen in a defeat.”
James did it in 1,475 regular-season games, reaching double-digit points in each of the last 1,205. He has largely avoided major injuries in that time, while also playing another 3½ seasons’ worth of games in the playoffs en route to four titles in 10 NBA Finals appearances, all with pressure placed on him to be the next transcendent player before ever stepping on the court as a pro.
Even with those expectations, James has now accomplished something that seemed impossible. James’ march saw him pass the previous record of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s 38,387 points on Feb. 7, 2023. All that scoring happened without James necessarily wanting that to be his trademark. He is fourth in career assists. with 10,847.
James’ combination of longevity and excellence is what makes it likely he could be the only player to reach 40,000 points. To put the feat in perspective, Nuggets center Nikola Jokic will need to average 25 points over his next 1,057 appearances to join James at 40,000. That would be nearly 13 full seasons without injuries or any other unforeseen circumstance, all the way past age 41 without a drop in production for the two-time MVP.