superstar LeBron James enters uncharted territory as he became the first player in the history of the NBA to score 40,000 career points. A milestone recorded during a home game 124-114 loss against the Denver Nuggets, King James continues to cement himself as the league’s all-time leading scorer.
James sealed his historic feat with a left-handed layup with 10:41 left in the second quarter which led to an uproar of cheers and a standing ovation from the crowd. While the Lakers and Nuggets continued to play, the Lakers called a timeout over a minute later which led to cheers and high-fives as James made his way to the bench. During the timeout, a tribute video made to honor the milestone was played. Just last season, James surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar‘s longstanding record of 38,387 career points to become the all-time leading scorer in the NBA. At the Denver Nuggets game, the four-time NBA champion was just nine points shy of the record, an easy accomplishment for the longtime league veteran.
In a post-game interview, James said of his milestone, “Obviously, I’m never thinking about a milestone when I’m out there battling, but when it happens obviously we acknowledge it.” He added, “Being the first player to do something is pretty cool in this league, because you just know the history, you know the greats that have come through the league and then you see some of the greats on the floor tonight. It was just great to compete.” Despite the historical moment, James did mention the loss to the Nuggets, “But for me the main thing is always the main thing and that’s to win and I hate that, that had to happen in a defeat, especially versus a team that plays extremely well basketball and we played some good basketball tonight but weren’t able to close it out. Bittersweet, but I enjoyed every moment tonight on the floor.” In his 21st season, James currently averages 25.3 points, 7.9 assists and 7.1 rebounds per game this season.
