LeBron James is well on his way to rewriting every previous definition of basketball longevity, and the 40-year-old star is now racking up numbers the NBA has never seen before.
James became the first player to score 50,000 combined points in the regular season and post-season on Tuesday night, surpassing the mark with a 3-pointer early in the first quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers' 136-115 win over New Orleans.
James finished with 34 points against the Pelicans after toppling another milestone in his unprecedented career.
“I mean, that's a lot of points,” James said afterward, rubbing his beard in wonder. “Obviously, the first thing that comes to mind is where I'm from. Picking up the game when I was a little kid and having a love for the sport, and hoping that someday I'd be able to play at the highest level. I've been able to do that and really enjoy my career. So it's definitely an honor. It's pretty cool to see that.”
James already is the top scorer in NBA history in both the regular season and the play-offs. Maintaining a spectacular level of play midway through his record-tying 22nd season, he is pulling away from the other greats of the game: Lakers great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who played 20 seasons, is a now-distant second with 44,149 combined points.
James got his milestone 3-pointer off an assist by Luka Doncic, a trivia tidbit that pleased both superstars. Doncic's arrival in last month's seismic trade with the Dallas Mavericks has invigorated both James and the Lakers, who look like championship contenders with a seven-game winning streak and 17 victories in their past 20 games.
“It’s amazing, watching him do this stuff at this age,” said Doncic, who had 30 points, 15 assists and eight rebounds against New Orleans. “It’s just unbelievable, that 50K points. I can’t even explain how insane that is. He might get to 70K. You never know.”
The Lakers recognised the milestone at the next timeout, with public address announcer Lawrence Tanter saying: “Ladies and gentlemen, we all have just witnessed history.” James acknowledged the standing ovation with several waves from the bench.
James is tied with Vince Carter for the most seasons played in NBA history. But while nearly every other NBA player who lasted to his late 30s finished at a fraction of his peak powers, James’ game shows no signs of decline in his 40s.
He was named the NBA’s Western Conference player of the month earlier Tuesday after he averaged 29.3 points, 10.5 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 1.2 steals in February while playing more than 35 minutes per game for the Lakers, who went 9-2 to surge into second place in the West.
With their victory over the Pelicans, the Lakers improved to 11-2 since acquiring Doncic.
James has played in 1,548 regular-season games, trailing only Robert Parish (1,611) and Abdul-Jabbar (1,560). If he stays healthy and elects to return for a record 23rd season, he will likely surpass Parish next winter.
James has also played in 287 post-season games, the most in NBA history. He became the league's career play-off scoring leader on May 25, 2017, when he surpassed Michael Jordan's total of 5,987 during the Cleveland Cavaliers' Eastern Conference finals game at Boston.
James then became the top scorer in regular-season history on February 7, 2023, when he topped Abdul-Jabbar's record of 38,387 points during the Lakers' game against Oklahoma City.
James' prolific scoring is due in large part to his metronomic consistency. With his performance against the Pelicans, he has scored at least 10 points in 1,278 consecutive games since January 6, 2007 – by far the longest such streak in NBA history.
James' player of the month award for February was his 41st, extending his own league record. He is also the oldest player to win the award, surpassing a 37-year-old Karl Malone in November 2000.
