When LeBron James became the all-time scoring king back in 2023, many were left pondering where his next groundbreaking achievement might come from. Few would have predicted that it would take place within a year, but perhaps we should all stop doubting LeBron James because that’s exactly what has happened. It was in a packed Crypto.com Stadium in March that LeBron James cooly pocketed his latest achievement, becoming the first player in NBA history to ever score 40,000 points.
Not all in one game, of course. That would be something to gawp at. This achievement has been twenty-one years in the making, starting all the way back in 2003, when LeBron James was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the National Basketball Association draft. Since then, LeBron James has steadily been asserting himself as a legend of the game, capitalised by flying past Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s previous record of 38,387 and given a full stop by making the big 40,000.
LeBron James’ Career Milestone
There were likely thousands of people who bet online that LeBron James would reach this milestone in 2024, but James’ achievements weren’t always so assured. In a way, his early story is like a fairytale. Born in 1984, James didn’t have the easiest of upbringings. With his father not involved in his life and his mother struggling to find work, James had to move from apartment to apartment, from neighbourhood to neighbourhood, until his mother decided he would be better off with the family of Frank Walker, a local youth football coach. With Walker teaching James the game of basketball, something clicked for James, and he soon found his passion for the sport, and then the Amateur Athletic Union for the Northeast Ohio Shooting Stars.
When LeBron James finally reached the NBA in 2003, it was a dream come true, and he soon got thrust into the limelight after winning the coveted ‘Rookie of the Year’ award, becoming the only rookie other than Michael Jordan and Oscar Robertson to score at least 20 points in his debut year. For the next seven years, he would lead the Cavaliers to several notorious victories, remaining a loyal player for the club until July 1st, 2010, when he finally became an unrestricted free agent. It summed up everything he had achieved already when he was subsequently contacted by several teams, including the New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks, Miami Heat, Los Angeles Clippers, and the Bulls. Lebron James was a man who was nowhere near reaching his full potential. And every team wanted him.
Historical Context
It was the Miami Heat who eventually sealed the deal, and with this team, LeBron secured back-to-back championships, as well as scoring an all-time career high of 61 points in a game against the Charlotte Bobcats. After this point, James returned to the Cavaliers for another few years before heading over to the LA Lakers, where he’s now made many more basketball milestones, including his 40,000 points. To understand how big of an achievement this is for James, however, it’s important to provide context.
Looking at Michael Jordan, for a second, this is a man who is often recognised as the all-time greatest NBA player. And for good reason. Among Jordan’s most remarkable achievements include piloting six NBA championship teams – in 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, and 1997 – and becoming an NBA Finals MVP six times. He also holds the sports records for the highest NBA Finals PPG average at 41.0 and a streak of nine consecutive games in which he scored 40 points or more – back in the season of 1986. There are several more achievements to talk about, but when it comes to overall points scored in the NBA – bearing in mind he played for fifteen seasons, between 1984 and 2003 – he raked in a total of 32,292. That’s 7,708 less than LeBron James, and Micahel Jordan is still – rightly – considered one of the all-time greats. This puts into perspective just how incredible a career LeBron James has had.
Impact on the NBA
It’s also important to note the impact that this will have on the NBA. Already, James is all over the NBA record books, holding second place for overall minutes played, fourth place for assists, eighth place for steals, seventh place for games played, and thirty-first place for rebounds. Now he will be at the top of the podium for overall points scored, and it’s hard to say exactly when that will be surpassed. Remember that LeBron James is thirty-nine years old, and clearly has a lot of juice left in the tank.
In a recent interview, he said that while he won’t play for another twenty-one years, he’s not thinking of retiring anytime soon, and this means his points are going to be steadily added to. We’re not saying he’s going to reach 50,000 points – although we wouldn’t put it past James – but this will have a huge impact on other stars who are venturing into the sport. With success stories like James’, Jordan’s, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s highlighting the fairy-tale-esque quality of basketball, this will only inspire the new kids on the block to push harder, shoot higher, and give them a solid benchmark to try to surpass. Athletes always look for a purpose, after all. And beating James’ 40,000 points is the best motivation out there for players looking to become the next legend of the game.
Fan and Player Reactions
Whether anyone will ever beat 40,000 points is up in the air, but one thing that will be very hard to beat is the reputation that LeBron James has made for himself in the process of achieving that number. Just a quick jump onto X would have proven just how loved LeBron James is, with fans praising his undying commitment to the sport, his humility in victory, and his astonishing longevity.
Elsewhere, Nike Basketball stated that James had ‘rewritten the equation for greatness’, while player Gilbert Arenas made a tongue-in-cheek comment that he ‘did his part in helping’. Interestingly, one superfan noted that if an NBA player played all of James’ 82 games for 20 seasons and averaged a huge 24 points per game, they still wouldn’t have enough points to reach LeBron’s record – symbolising just how impressive of a record it really is.
Looking Ahead
LeBron James has amassed plenty of favourable comments over his career, but surely one of the comments that he must be most proud of is everyone saying ‘What next?’ That seems to be a common trend across platforms like X and Instagram – while his 40,000 points achievement is incredible, many fans and former players are already talking about what he might do in the future, proving how much admiration and belief is still out there for James. The truth is that LeBron James doesn’t have to do anything in the future. He could retire right now and be considered the GOAT for the NBA for decades to come. But it’s a measure of the man that he undoubtedly won’t.
It’s likely that LeBron James will keep adding to the record lists for a few more years yet, and when the day comes that he finally retires, he’ll have notched up a few more achievements in the process. Does he have any more Finals wins in him? With the Boston Celtics and the Minnesota Timberwolves flying right now, it’s hard to say. But one thing is for sure: there are still blank spaces in the history books, and LeBron James will do everything he can to fill them.
