LeBron James, a basketball legend in his own right, has reached another extraordinary milestone by surpassing 40,000 points in the NBA, further solidifying his place as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport. Achieving this feat on Saturday night, James extended the all-time scoring record he claimed from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar last season.
James has now added approximately 1,700 points to his total, creating a significant gap between himself and Abdul-Jabbar’s previous record of 38,387 points. This accomplishment raises discussions about whether James’ NBA scoring record could join the ranks of seemingly unbreakable records, such as Cal Ripken’s consecutive games played in baseball or Wayne Gretzky’s point record in the NHL.
Wilt Chamberlain’s incredible season average of 50.4 points remains a record that no one has come close to matching. Even the highest full-season average by another player, Elgin Baylor’s 38.3 points per game, would require almost 13 seasons of playing all 82 games to reach 40,000 points.
Miami forward Kevin Love, a former teammate of James, echoed the sentiment last year, stating, “Nobody will ever, ever touch it.” The sentiment is shared across the basketball community, recognizing the unparalleled combination of excellence and longevity that James has demonstrated throughout his career.
Looking at the current NBA landscape, only seven active players have surpassed 20,000 points, with Kevin Durant being the closest to James, approximately 12,000 points behind. However, Durant, with a career average of 27.3 points per game, would need to maintain an exceptional level of play, essentially playing every game until the end of the 2028-29 season, to reach the 40,000-point mark.
James’ journey to 40,000 points is a testament to his commitment, skill, and longevity in the sport. As the NBA community celebrates this historic achievement, the discussion around records that seemed untouchable now includes LeBron James’ scoring record, underscoring his impact on the game and his lasting legacy in basketball history.
(Inputs from agencies)
