By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Greatness personified.
All hail the king.
Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James continued to stamp his way to legendary status in the NBA after becoming the first player to reach 40,000 points during their game against the Denver Nuggets on March 3, 2024.
Needing only nine more points to achieve the feat, James reached his newest career milestone after converting on a leftie scoop layup with 10:39 remaining in the second quarter.
In an isolation play at the top of the key against Michael Porter Jr., James sized him up and used an escape spin move to get to the hole for the record-setting deuce.
After the game, James ended up with 26 points, nine assists, four rebounds, and three steals. He then extended his NBA All-Time scoring record to 40,017 points.
Despite achieving the 40k-mark status, James and the Lakers still folded to the reigning NBA champions, 124-114.
Last February 8, 2024, James already surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the league’s no.1 scorer of All-Time when they matched up against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
With 12.5 seconds left in the third quarter and the Los Angeles Lakers needing a bucket to inch closer to Oklahoma, James cashed in a fade-away jumper from the top of the key that officially inked his name in the history book of the NBA.
The Lakers-Thunder game came to a pause to recognize James’ greatness that further solidified his Greatest of All Time (GOAT) status in the big boys’ league.
The closest threat to James’ new record is Brooklyn Nets’ Kevin Durant who is currently sitting on the no. 14 of the All-Time Scoring list with 26,684 points.
Durant joins James as the only two players included in the top 15 All-Time Scoring list still hooping in the NBA.
Currently, the Lakers are sitting in the no. 10 spot of the Western Conference and will have to tighten their screws up if they want to advance to the playoffs this year.
Los Angeles only has 20 games remaining this season and is in a must-win situation. The Lakers will kick off its grueling schedule on March 5, 2024, against the Thunder and will then face Sacramento, Milwaukee, and Minnesota in their next set of games.
