On Saturday, LeBron James added to his growing collection of NBA records. He became the first player in NBA history to tally 40,000 career regular season points.
James was born in 1984 to a 16-year-old single mother living in Akron, Ohio. James received national attention while playing for the St. Vincent-St. Mary High School basketball and football teams. He was drafted out of high school, first overall, by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003. He'd move the Miami Heat in 2010, rejoin the Cavaliers in 2014, and then move to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018, where he has played since.
James entered the NBA as probably the most anticipated prospect in history. His impact was immediate and earned him Rookie of the Year honors in 2003-2004, though he would miss the playoffs by a single game.
James continued to develop and finally made the playoffs in 2006. He would return to the playoffs in each of the next twelve seasons. He won two NBA titles with the Heat in 2012 and 2013 and won a third with Cleveland in 2016. After missing the playoffs in 2019, he returned in 2020 and won the pandemic-defined 2020 NBA Championship.
That championship was James' fourth NBA Finals win and tenth appearance. In addition to four Finals wins, James earned four MVP awards in 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013. He's also a 20-time All-Star, earning the honor every year from 2005-2024.
James has been making headlines for more than twenty years, but perhaps his most notable moment came on Feb. 7, 2023, when he surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record of 38,387 points to become the NBA's all-time leading scorer. Now, that record has been raised to above 40,000.
With 10:39 remaining in the second quarter of Saturday's Lakers-Nuggets game, James drove from the three-point line to the basket. He spun past the defending Michael Porter Jr. and laid the ball in left-handed off the backboard. It was a routine basket, but it marked an achievement that may never be matched.
James is also fourth in all-time assists, a testament to his ability to play as part of a team. He's also the inaugural NBA Cup MVP, a title he earned when his Lakers won 2023's inaugural in-season tournament.
James turned 39 in December but shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, his 2023 average of 28.9 points per game is greater than his career average of 27.2 points per game. He's publicly expressed a desire to play alongside his son, LeBron "Bronny" James Jr., who is currently a freshman guard at the University of Southern California.
Bronny is developing at USC but would need further development if drafted to the NBA this year. Whether it's this year or in the near future, the team that drafts LeBron James Jr. will do so with the knowledge that LeBron James Sr. is likely to follow.
If James continues to play at or near his current level, fans could reasonably expect to see him remain in the league for multiple seasons. He's stated that he'll retire if he's one day unable to give 100 percent effort on the court. But as he said then, that day is not today.
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