LeBron James made history on Tuesday, becoming the first player in NBA history to score 50,000 career points. The Los Angeles Lakers superstar extended his lead as the league’s all-time top scorer, reaching a milestone that may never be surpassed, AFP reports.
James entered the game against the New Orleans Pelicans with 49,999 combined regular-season and postseason points, following a 17-point performance in Sunday’s win over the Los Angeles Clippers. It didn’t take long for the 40-year-old to reach the historic mark, as he drained a 25-foot three-pointer off a pass from Luka Doncic, sending the Crypto.com Arena crowd into celebration.
James, now in his 22nd NBA season, surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time regular-season scoring record of 38,387 points in 2023. He now sits nearly 6,000 points ahead of Abdul-Jabbar’s total career tally of 44,149. Karl Malone ranks third with 41,689 points, followed by the late Kobe Bryant (39,283) and Michael Jordan (38,279).
Among active players, Kevin Durant is the closest to James with just over 35,000 points—still about 15,000 behind the Lakers legend.
