LeBron James Becomes First Player in NBA History to Reach 50,000 Career Points

LeBron James, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, reached another historic milestone on Tuesday night, March 4, as the Los Angeles Lakers secured a 136-115 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans.

The future Hall of Famer became the first player in NBA history to surpass 50,000 career points across both the regular season and playoffs. He achieved this feat with a three-pointer in the first quarter, delighting the home crowd at Crypto.com Arena.

James entered the game just one point shy of the milestone, having accumulated 41,837 regular-season points (the most in NBA history) and 8,162 playoff points (also a record), bringing his total to 49,999 before tip-off.

After the game, James said:

“I’m not going to sit here and sugarcoat it – it’s a hell of a lot of points,” the four-time NBA champion said.

“And I’m super blessed to be able to put that many points up in the best league in the world with the best players in the world over my career, so it’s pretty special.”

LeBron James finished the game with a team-high 34 points, bringing his career total to 50,033.

No other player in league history is within 5,000 points of the 50K mark. Hall of Fame center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had 44,149 combined points and sits in second place behind James on the all-time scoring list.

The closest active player to the mark is Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant, who has 35,225 combined points after the Suns’ 119-117 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night.

Earlier on Tuesday, the 40-year-old, who is playing in his 22nd season, was named Western Conference Player of the Month for February after averaging 29.3 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 6.9 assists. He is the oldest player to win a Player of the Month award, extending his NBA record to 41 monthly honors.

James is one of the greatest players in the sport’s history. After surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s regular-season scoring record in 2023, James has pulled away from his competitors, becoming the first to reach 40,000 career points later that season.