LeBron James Reaches Milestone of 50,000 Career Points, Continuing to Lead Lakers
LeBron James has become the first player in NBA history to score 50,000 points, including postseason play, enhancing his legacy as a basketball great.
At this point, every single point LeBron James scores represents a new NBA record. He entered Tuesday night鈥檚 Lakers vs. Pelicans game with 41,837 career points, but remember, that doesn鈥檛 account for postseason scoring. Add his 8,162 playoff points, and that totals 49,999 total career points.
This meant he needed one bucket on Tuesday to surpass an astounding 50,000 career points, and he got it with 8:33 to go in the first quarter on a wing 3-pointer off a cross-court pass from his new teammate Luka Don膷i膰.
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The bucket that gave LeBron 50,000 career points in the playoffs and regular season combined! Tweet by ESPN
This milestone can only be achieved when every aspect of basketball greatness aligns. Talent is essential, but also intelligence, feel for the game, the ability to score from any position on the floor - be it driving, posting, or shooting - even against two or three defenders, both in transition and during half-court plays. However, since this achievement arose over 22 seasons, it shows that durability is crucial; if you cannot withstand the rigors of the game like LeBron has, a number like this is unattainable.
Now at age 40, James maintains top-tier MVP performance with averages of 24.8 points, 8.6 assists, and 8.0 rebounds per game this season.
He is on track for All-NBA honors once again and was recently named Western Conference Player of the Month, making him the oldest player ever to earn this title. This new scoring record was fittingly sealed with a 3-pointer as it signifies his scoring evolution while managing to conserve energy, with 39% accuracy from 3-point range this season.
