LeBron James’ rare statistical achievement is within striking distance
Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James is on the precipice of reaching 40,000 career points scored. The 2024 NBA All-Star needs 74 more points to do so.
The Akron, OH. native is still going strong in his 21st NBA season, playing at an All-NBA caliber at age 39.
Just last season, James put one of the finishing touches on his illustrious career by breaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s scoring record. Now, he’s eyeing a loftier achievement that will put the cherry on top of his offensive body of work.
James averages 25.0 points per game on the 2023-24 season. At that pace, he can eclipse the 40,000-point milestone against the Denver Nuggets on Saturday, a feat no player has ever achieved.
LeBron James will stand alone after scoring milestone
Supporters took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to add hype around the eventful week ahead.
Others marveled at how mind-boggling the feat is compared to the accomplishments of James’ contemporaries. They juxtaposed how massive it will be for James to hit 40,000 points compared to achievements of other NBA superstars like Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry.
In addition to outdueling the competitors of his time, James has enjoyed unprecedented longevity. James has more points this season than all of the other players to have made it to year 21 combined.
Scoring 40,000 points will parallel NHL legend Wayne Gretzky’s assists record and MLB pioneer Cy Young’s complete games milestone as one of the most unfathomable records in North American team sports.
James could very well hit the marker before Saturday. He’ll need to have huge performances in his next two games to do so. With five 35-plus point performances already this year, anything is possible.