LeBron James makes history as first NBA player to reach 50,000 career points

LeBron James has etched his name even deeper into basketball history by becoming the first player ever to score 50,000 career points in the NBA.

The Los Angeles Lakers superstar reached this unprecedented milestone on Tuesday during a matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans, further solidifying his status as the league’s all-time leading scorer.

James entered the game with 49,999 combined points across both regular season and postseason play, following a 17-point performance in the Lakers’ recent victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.

It did not take long for the 40-year-old NBA icon to get the solitary point needed to reach the 50,000-point barrier.

James, who is in dazzling form in the 22nd season of a glittering career, gathered a pass from Luka Doncic and unfurled a sublime 25-foot three-pointer to move to 50,002 points with the Crypto.com Arena crowd roaring their acclaim.

James had passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s previous all-time regular-season scoring record of 38,387 points in 2023 – itself a record that had stood for 39 years.

James is now nearly 6,000 points clear of Abdul-Jabbar’s total career points tally of 44,149, with Karl Malone third (41,689 points) and the late Kobe Bryant fourth with 39,283 points.

Michael Jordan is fifth on the all-time scoring list with 38,279.

Among active NBA players, only Kevin Durant with just over 35,000 points – roughly 15,000 points behind James – makes the top 10.