Lakers News: LeBron James Extends Scoring Record To 40,000 Career Points Vs Nuggets

The King's legacy continues to grow.

Coming into tonight just nine points away from the 40,000 mark, Los Angeles Lakers superstar forward LeBron James has eclipsed yet another incredible accolade that separates himself from the greats to ever touch a basketball. 

Here's a look at the bucket that got him to 40,000: 

James becomes the first and only player to eclipse the 40,000-point mark, which is especially impressive given this breakdown: 

Let me put the 40K in perspective.

To get to 40,000 points, a player who averages 30 ppg his Entire career, would need to play for 20 years on average of 67 games per season.

Do you get it now? pic.twitter.com/uZLJKNMHGS

— Letting Go (@ProvideContext) March 2, 2024

James is in a league of his own with regards to longevity, performance, and versatility, as he's put up these massive point totals on an array of different teams: some good, some bad, some old, and some young, along with being a part of 3 different franchises, with two stints in Cleveland. 

This record is unlikely to be broken by anyone given the era of load management that we're in, as the prioritization of long-term health has made it so players like rookie San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama, who are elite out of the gate, can only score so much as their organizations are concerned about their health and thus limit their minutes. 

Other candidates to break it are Luka Doncic and to a lesser degree, Paolo Banchero, as the former has been averaging 30 points thus far in his career, while the latter has been putting up big scoring numbers from the jump, and is on a team that projects to be very good in the near future, enabling him to use the playoffs to boost his totals. Banchero's rookie numbers also mirror LeBron's, but he hasn't made the same year 2 leap that James has, leaving Doncic as more or less the only current option in the league with a punter's chance.