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LeBron James, on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, ascended to an unprecedented pinnacle in NBA annals, becoming the first athlete to accumulate 50,000 career points—a feat that fortifies his supremacy as the league’s foremost scorer and establishes a record that may stand as an enduring testament to his prowess.
Entering the Los Angeles Lakers’ matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans, the venerated star carried a cumulative total of 49,999 points from regular season and playoff contests, a figure augmented by a 17-point display during the team’s triumph over the Los Angeles Clippers the preceding Sunday.
The 40-year-old luminary required minimal time to breach the 50,000-point threshold, a solitary point that materialized with striking efficiency, underscoring his relentless command of the court.
In the 22nd year of a storied tenure marked by sustained excellence, James received a deft assist from Luka Doncic before executing a masterful 25-foot three-point shot, elevating his tally to 50,002 and eliciting a resonant surge of approbation from the spectators at Crypto.com Arena—a moment destined to reverberate through basketball’s chronicles.
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.
Lakers legend Earvin Magic Johnson led the tributes to James’ achievement.
“Congratulations to the King LeBron James for becoming the only player in NBA history to score 50,000 regular season and playoff points!,” Johnson wrote on X.
Read also: Lakers Anticipate LeBron’s Return After Disappointing Loss
LeBron James’ attainment of the 50,000-point milestone on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, was preceded mere hours earlier by his securing of another NBA distinction, as he was designated the Western Conference Player of the Month for February—the oldest recipient of this accolade in the league’s history, a testament to his enduring preeminence at age 40.
Throughout February, James proved pivotal in steering the Los Angeles Lakers to an impressive 10-2 ledger, delivering a commanding average of 29.3 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 6.9 assists per game—statistics that underscore his indispensable contribution to the team’s resurgence.
This sustained excellence has fueled a six-game victory sequence for the Lakers, elevating them to second in the Western Conference hierarchy and positioning them as formidable contenders for an NBA title—their first since the Covid-interrupted campaign of 2020—a pursuit imbued with renewed vigor under James’ stewardship.
