At this point, every single point LeBron James scores represents a new NBA record. He entered Tuesday night’s Lakers vs. Pelicans game with 41,837 career points, but remember, that doesn’t count postseason scoring. Add in his 8,162 playoff points, and that was a total of 49,999 total career points.
That meant he needed one bucket on Tuesday to go over an astounding 50,000 career points, and he got it with 8:33 to go in the first quarter on a wing 3-pointer off a cross-court pass from his new running buddy Luka Dončić.
This type of number can only be achieved when every element of basketball greatness lines up. Talent, of course, but also intelligence, feel for the game, the ability to score from any spot on the floor — be it driving, posting or shooting — against double teams, triple teams, in the halfcourt and on the break, midrange, off the catch, off the dribble, and on and on.
But most of all, this is a record of longevity. You can have all the talent in the world, but if you’re not durable enough to hold up for as long as LeBron has, you’re not sniffing a number like this.
In his 22nd season at 40 years old, James continues to play, arguably, at a top-five MVP level with averages of 24.8 points, 8.6 assists and 8.0 rebounds entering Tuesday. He’s going to be All-NBA this season. He was just voted Western Conference Player of the Month — the oldest player in history to do so. And after he put up 34 points, eight rebounds and six assists in the 136-115 win over New Orleans, James has the Lakers (39-21) on a seven-game win streak and in the No. 2 spot in the West.
It’s fitting that James hit this 50,000 mark on a 3-pointer as it’s been the development of that shot that has played such a major role in his ability to sustain such scoring prowess. He’s still a freight train getting to the rim, especially in transition and when he lands on certain matchups, but over the years he’s become a lot more dependent on 3-pointers as a less taxing source of production. This season, James is making 39% of his 3s on almost six attempts per game.
If you’re wondering who’s second on the total career points list, counting regular season and playoffs, it’s the same as the official leaderboard: LeBron, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (44,149), Karl Malone (41,689), Kobe Bryant (39,283) and Michael Jordan (38,279).
