LeBron James becomes first NBA player to reach 40,000 points

The LA Lakers forward reached the milestone in his 21st season in the NBA, but termed it ‘bittersweet’ as it came in a loss against Denver Nuggets.

LeBron James has become the first NBA player to reach 40,000 career points, scoring on a driving layup in LA Lakers’ home game against the Denver Nuggets.

James became the NBA’s all-time scoring leader more than a year ago when he passed former Lakers star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in a home game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on February 7, 2022. Abdul-Jabbar had 38,387 points over 20 seasons.

James entered Saturday’s game with a career average of 27.1 points per game over 1,474 contests in 21 NBA seasons.

Needing nine points to reach his latest milestone, the Akron, Ohio, native had five points on 2-of-3 shooting in the first quarter.

James cut to the basket for a layup to open the second quarter then reached the 40,000 mark when he drove past the Nuggets’ Michael Porter Jr with a spin then made a left-handed layup with 10:39 remaining in the second quarter.

He called the historic effort “bittersweet” as it came in a losing cause. James finished with 26 points, but the Lakers lost to the Nuggets 124-114.

“Being the first player to do something, it’s pretty cool in this league ‘cause you just know the history, you know the grace that has come through the league,” James said after the game.