By Oluwawemimo Obaoye
During the LA Lakers’ home game against the Denver Nuggets, LeBron James made history by becoming the first NBA player to surpass 40,000 career points with a driving layup.
More than a year ago, on February 7, 2022, at home against the Oklahoma City Thunder, LeBron overtook former Lakers great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA’s all-time scoring leader. Over 20 seasons, Abdul-Jabbar scored 38,387 points.
LeBron has a lifetime average of 27.1 points per game over 1,474 games over 21 NBA seasons going into Saturday’s match.
The product of Akron, Ohio, needed just nine points to reach his most recent milestone. In the first quarter, he scored five points on two of three shots.
He started the second quarter by cutting to the basket for a layup. With 10:39 left in the half, he drove past Michael Porter Jr. of the Nuggets with a spin and made a left-handed layup to reach the 40,000 mark.
Given that it was a losing endeavor, he described the historic attempt as “bittersweet.” Despite LeBron’s 26 points in the end, the Lakers fell short against the Nuggets 124-114.
The Lakers superstar, who is currently in his 21st season, is the oldest active player in the NBA and has won four championships and four NBA MVP awards.
39-year-old LeBron has scored more points than ever lately, averaging 30.8 points in his last four outings. This season, He came into the game averaging 25.3 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 7.9 assists.
October 29, 2003, was the day he scored his first points in the NBA as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers against the Sacramento Kings. In February 2008, he scored 10,000 points, and in January 2013, he scored 20,000 points. January 2018 marked LeBron’s 30,000th point.