Everyone knew it was going to happen. Because with LeBron James, there are no insurmountable barriers, even at 39 years old. The Los Angeles Lakers player became, on Saturday March 2, the first in the history of the NBA, the North American professional basketball league, to cross the milestone of 40,000 points in the regular season.
LeBron James only needed nine points to surpass this legendary milestone during a prestigious match against the Denver Nuggets, defending champions, broadcast on the national channel ABC. During the second quarter, he scored with a layup after a spin to reach this staggering total. “The LeBron legend continues,” celebrated the American television commentator. Denver’s Serbian pivot, Nikola Jokic, joked on Saturday at the start of the game by promising to “stop him at 8 points”.
In February 2023, LeBron James had already climbed a mountain by seizing the points record from legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,390 points). With more than 40,000 points, the “King” of the City of Angels has now flown away. Only he knows how high he will carry this mark as he continually redefines the notion of longevity in his twenty-first season in the NBA.
An end of career still unknown
The native of Akron (Ohio), who will celebrate his 40th birthday at the end of the year, remains unclear about the end of his career: “I haven’t decided how many seasons I have left to play,” he explained again in mid-February, when he can activate an additional year of contract with the Lakers this summer.
“It’s a perfect testament to all the work he’s done all these years, the way he took care of his body, playing at the highest level. It’s an incredible feat,” praised his trainer Darvin Ham on Thursday, anticipating the event.
Saturday, the celebration was not complete for the demanding leader of the Lakers. the Californian team finally lost (114-124) against the Nuggets, despite the 26 points of its number 23.
Of his 40,017 points in 1,475 games (27.1 points on average), LeBron James scored 23,119 with Cleveland in two stints and eleven seasons, where he started in 2003, before returning in 2014 to win there a title in 2016. He has 7,919 points with the Miami Heat, where he won his first two rings (2012 and 2013), and now 8,979 with the Lakers, whom he joined in 2018 with a title won in 2016. 2020, his fourth. A four-time MVP and four-time NBA Finals MVP, he also has 8,023 points in the playoffs.
Patron to franchise
A complete basketball player, LeBron James is also fourth in the ranking of best passers (10,847), eighth in interceptions (2,255), tenth in defensive rebounds (9,334), being seventh in total matches played (1,475), and the player who attempted the most shots (29,027).
A true boss of his franchise, LeBron James impresses with his aura, his way of leading his teammates, and above all his ability, at 39, to physically dominate much younger players. At each match, the Crypto.com Arena, the Lakers’ venue, continues to enjoy powerful rushes sometimes followed by a devastating dunk.
Already a double Olympic champion (2008 and 2012), LeBron James has rallied several big names from the NBA (Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant) to form a new “Dream team” at the Paris Olympic Games this summer, from July 26 to August 11.
