Source: Wally Skalij / Getty / LeBron James
The future first-ballot basketball Hall-of-Famer extended his hold on the league’s scoring record, becoming the first and only player to reach the 40,000 mark during the regular season.
Saturday, March 2, was another historic night for LeBron James after he reached 40,000 regular-season points in the Lakers’ 124-114 loss to the Denver Nuggets at the Crypto.com arena.
Coming into the night, he only needed nine points to reach the milestone, and he did just that in the second quarter with a driving left-hand layup.
There was no immediate break in the action after Bron finally hit the 40,000-point mark, but he did get his acknowledgment during a timeout, where he was given the game ball and a touching video tribute.
Coming into this season, James was already the league’s scoring king after
passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most points in NBA history last year.
Counting the regular season and playoffs, James is well past the 40,000 point mark, and entering Saturday’s game, he had an astounding 48,014 points.
But with the accomplishment, James is now in a league by himself, becoming the only NBA player to rack up 40,000 points in regular season play.
LeBron James Loves Making History, But He Stills Values Winning More
“Being the first player to do something, that’s pretty cool in this league. You just know the history, the greats that’s come through the league,” James said after the game. “For me, the main thing is always the main thing, and that’s the win. I hated that it had to happen in the defeat, especially versus the team that plays extremely well.”
His teammate, Anthony Davis, echoed similar sentiments, adding, “I was just telling him in the locker room, one, he might have to stop breaking records because we always lose any time he breaks a record. And he said the same thing,” per the
Los Angeles Times.
Of course, NBA fans have been reacting to James’ latest on-court accomplishment; you can see those reactions in the gallery below.
