LeBron becomes first to reach 40K career points

LOS ANGELES — LeBron James continues to extend his career to uncharted territory, becoming the first player in NBA history to reach 40,000 career points on Saturday night at Crypto.com Arena.

James came into the Los Angeles Lakers‘ game against the Denver Nuggets needing nine points to reach the mark. He got there with a driving layup at the 10:39 mark of the second quarter.

“No one has ever done it,” James said when asked about the point total this week. “And for me to be in this position at this point and time in my career, I think it’s pretty cool. Does it sit at the top of the things I’ve done in my career? No. But does it mean something? Of course. Absolutely. Why wouldn’t it? To be able to accomplish things in this league, with the greatest players to ever play in this league, the NBA, this has been a dream of mine and to hit feats and have milestones throughout my career, they all mean something to me.

“Obviously, there’s a pecking order of which [accomplishments] are higher than others, but I would be lying to you if I said it doesn’t mean anything. Because it absolutely does.”

James airballed his first shot of the night — a turnaround jumper over Denver’s Aaron Gordon — and then quickly found his groove. Anthony Davis bounced an outlet pass to him as James sprinted down the floor, and the 21-year veteran finished the sequence with a layup at the rim. Not long after, James hit a corner 3-pointer with Nikola Jokic guarding him.

James finished the first quarter with five points, and the home crowd kept a running tally of his countdown to 40,000 on the videoboard.

He started the second quarter with an and-1 layup to bring his total to seven but missed the free throw.

James missed a 3-pointer the next time down, with fans holding up their phones to record the possession in anticipation of his record-setting hoop.

On L.A.’s next trip down the floor, James got the ball beyond the 3-point line, used a spin move to dribble around Michael Porter Jr. and scored a left-handed layup to give him nine points for the game and an even 40,000 for his career.

During an ensuing timeout, James was presented the game ball and received a standing ovation from the crowd after the Lakers played a tribute video on the jumbotron.

James passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s career scoring total of 38,387 points last season to overtake the heralded center’s perch as the league’s all-time scoring leader, a record Abdul-Jabbar held for nearly 40 years.

“You just come to assume and expect these great things that he’s doing, whether it’s making seven 3s or his downhill attacks, taking off from the [the dotted half circle in the lane] still at this point in time in his career,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said before Saturday’s game. “We’re not going to see this for a lot longer and have to appreciate him while he’s here. … Just appreciate him for what he’s given to the game, what he continues to give to the game and his knowledge, his performance.

“I’m honored to be able to coach him and see it firsthand.”

No other active player has even 30,000 career points. Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant is closest with 28,342 points, which makes him the league’s No. 9 all-time leading scorer.

When asked if he is motivated to keep playing to pad his lead as the game’s leading scorer, James said the record was never something he aimed for.

“I never thought about getting the scoring record,” James said. “It just happened organically. I played the game the right way and went out and played the game and let the game come to me and the scoring record happened organically for me. It was never a goal of mine when I came into the league, like I wanted to be the all-time leading scorer. But I’m still playing. And I can still score the ball so [his point total is] going to go up until I’m done playing.”