LOS ANGELES —- The Lakers hosted the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night, with LeBron James currently sitting at 49,999 career points (regular season + playoffs), needing just one more point to become the first player ever to reach the 50k milestone.
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That is, a few minutes into the first quarter LeBron hit a three, via an assist from Luka Doncic, which gave himself 50,002 points tallied throughout his illustrious career as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, and LA Lakers.
LeBron James is now the first player in NBA history with 50,000 total points.
He is the only player with:
50,000+ total points
40,000+ regular season points
8,000+ playoff pointsNo other player even has 6,000 career playoff points.pic.twitter.com/EVmDkK4Qwj
— Underdog NBA (@Underdog__NBA) March 5, 2025
Overall on the night, LeBron ended with 34 points (10-for-18 FG; 5-for-10 3PT), eight rebounds, and six assists in the Lakers' 136-115 win vs. the Pelicans.
After 22 seasons and 1,835 games played, the Kid from Akron currently has 50,033 total points (regular season- 41,871; playoffs- 8,162), which puts him nearly 6k ahead of No. 2 all-time, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (44,149).
LAKERS ON THE RISE AS LEBRON APPROACHES NEW MILESTONE
LeBron James enters tonight’s game with the Pelicans (10:30 pm/et, NBA League Pass) with 49,999 points scored between the regular season (41,837, 1st all-time) and Playoffs (8,162, 1st all-time) combined.
With his first… pic.twitter.com/hTzzEKtu7m
— NBA (@NBA) March 4, 2025
In view of how LeBron got there, he has averaged 27.0 points per game (50.7% FG; 35.0% 3PT) in the regular season, while putting up 28.4 points (49.7% FG; 33.2% 3PT) in the playoffs.
Not to mention, the world's all-time leading scorer is also currently No. 3 all-time for assists (regular season + playoffs- 13,458), trailing only San Antonio Spurs guard Chris Paul (13,596) and John Stockton (17,645).
Undoubtedly, LeBron has defied Father Time like no other athlete in any sport ever.
With this in mind, at 40 years old he was just announced as the Western Conference Player of the Month award winner for February. Notably, this is LeBron's 41st time winning the POTM award, with the next closest player on that list being Kobe Bryant (17).
The kid from AKRON 🤴🏾 https://t.co/8p5RunHwCK
— LeBron James (@KingJames) March 4, 2025
That is to say, since reaching the age of 40, LeBron has actually even taken it up a notch; last month he averaged 29.3 points (55.5% FG; 44.4% 3PT), 10.5 rebounds, and 6.9 assists.
And needless to say, King James' performances on the court have directly led to winning, as the Lakers currently have a 39-21 record, putting them ranked as the No. 2 seed in the West at the moment.
Since coming into the league as an 18-year-old out of St. Vincent-St. Mary's high school in 2003, LeBron has also now reached 1,000 regular season wins, which he accomplished in the Lakers' last 108-102 victory vs. the Clippers (3/2/25).
The only other players to reach this mark are: Abdul-Jabbar (1,074), Robert Parish (1,014), and Tim Duncan (1,001).
LEBRON BECOMES THE FIRST PLAYER IN NBA HISTORY TO SCORE 50K CAREER POINTS 👑🐐 pic.twitter.com/tI3gbKExd8
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 5, 2025
In view of the points scored record, if another NBA player was wanting to join the 50k+ club, they would essentially have to play 20+ seasons (playing in all 82 games), averaging 25+ points per game, while also appearing in 20+ playoff games every year.
To put into perspective, 36-year-old Kevin Durant seemingly has the best chance of catching up to LeBron, yet he is still nearly trailing by 15,000 (35,225 points).
And that goes without saying, LeBron still has somehow not shown any signs of slowing down at all, currently averaging 25+ points per game in his 22nd NBA season...
Related: 20-Year-Old LeBron James And 39-Year-Old LeBron James Both Make History
