As he continues to make NBA history at the age of 38, LeBron James never ceases to surprise.
With a three-pointer in the first quarter of Tuesday night’s In-Season Tournament group stage game against the Utah Jazz, James became the first NBA player to surpass 39,000 points. James, who passed Jerry West as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer last season, is showing no signs of slowing down as he approaches his 39th birthday; he has continued to increase his lead in scoring.
Even though the Los Angeles Lakers have been wildly erratic as of late, LeBron James has continued to defy the odds by producing a series of game-changing performances. James is unlike anyone the NBA has ever seen. With five games in which he scored 30 points or more, James has shot below 50% from the field just once this season.
Even though he rested for the fourth quarter, James still managed to contribute with 17 points, 9 assists, and 7 rebounds in the Lakers’ 131-99 drubbing of the Jazz. It brought James’ season-average point total down to “just” 25.7 per game.
In the 1985–86 seаsоn, аt the аge оf 38, Kаreem аbdul-Jаbbаr аverаged 23.4 pоints per gаme. Jаmes pаssed аbdul-Jаbbаr in Februаry tо becоme the аll-time leаding scоrer in NBа histоry. аlsо оn the verge оf breаking thаt recоrd is Jаmes, whо wаs just оne yeаr оld when it hаppened.
Going on to 40K
The 40,000-point milestone will be reached by James during this season. It will happen if he maintains his health. Every NBA fan, though, is wondering, “when?”
Throughout his career, James has averaged 27.2 points per game in scoring. Now he’s just 988 points short of reaching 40,000. Assuming he maintains his current level of fitness, James should reach 40,000 points by February 2024, setting a new record for scoring. This assumes that he averages 25 points every night for the following 40 games.
It just so happens that the Lakers’ 40th game after Tuesday night is at Chase Center on February 22. This means that LeBron could potentially shatter his own record against his longtime rivals, the Golden State Warriors, just once more.