After being the youngest player in history to reach all even points (1000, 2000, 3000… to 39,000), LeBron James has reached 40,000 points in his NBA career.
Already the owner of many records in the NBA, LeBron James has just successfully conquered a new milestone. The Los Angeles Lakers superstar became the first player in NBA history to score 40,000 points in his career.
The shot that put LeBron in history was a left-handed shot at the beginning of the second half of the Lakers’ match hosting defending champion Denver Nuggets on March 3. He surpassed Michael Porter Jr. with his forte spin-move and successfully finished close to the basket.
The match continued until the Lakers called a timeout about 1 minute later, creating an opportunity for LeBron James to receive applause from 19,000 fans at Crypto.com Stadium.
“Personally, I am always grateful that he is still playing, still showing us extraordinary things. I am very honored to be LeBron James’ coach and to witness this special moment,” Los Angeles Lakers coach Darvin Ham shared.
Before entering today’s match, LeBron James was only 9 points short of reaching the 40,000 milestone. This season, despite his age, the Lakers star still averaged 25.3 points, 7.9 assists and 7.1 rebounds.
Comes with an index of 52.5% FG, long throw of 40.8% 3PT and 73.6% FT. These are the best statistics ever seen in history, both for a 39-year-old player and for a player playing the 21st season of his career.
To make a small comparison, Vince Carter previously averaged the most points in the 21st season with… 7.4 points/game, 3.5 times less than what LeBron currently has.
In addition to the 40,000-point game, LeBron James also extended another NBA record streak of 1,205 consecutive games scoring 10 points or more. The last time James had 9 points or less happened more than 17 years ago, when he was just 22 years old.
“I actually never thought about focusing on breaking records, it was just something that happened naturally as I pursued bigger goals,” LeBron James shared on March 2.
“I play basketball the right way, respect it and pay attention to it. Then just like that, basketball returned to me, giving me the achievements and records that everyone witnessed. My goal is to win and be champion. Scores and records will come along with that journey.”
Statistics site ESPN said that LeBron James is the youngest player in NBA history to reach all even-scoring milestones (1,000, 2,000, 3,000, 4,000…) up to the present time. The numbers 39,000 and 40,000 points are being monopolized by James alone.
Another statistic shows that LeBron has been in the top 20 players scoring the most points in the season for 20 consecutive years. Although this year’s season is not yet counted, it is very likely that James will extend this achievement to 21 years.
The above two statistics show that LeBron James is not only an excellent scorer but also durable and extremely stable. He maintained good form throughout 2 decades, lasting from 2003 until today.
It is a pity that this special achievement of LeBron James came incomplete. He and his Los Angeles Lakers teammates lost to the defending champion Denver Nuggets with a score of 114-124.
“For me the most important thing is still to win. So conquering this milestone is also special but I don’t like the feeling that it comes in a loss,” LeBron James said.
