First NBA player to

“King James” cracks incredible points mark

LeBron James is unstoppable.(Bild: ASSOCIATED PRESS)

LeBron James has become the first player in the history of the North American professional basketball league NBA to reach the 40,000 career points mark. 

The Los Angeles Lakers superstar scored the missing nine points early in the game in the 114:124 home defeat against the defending champions Denver Nuggets on Saturday: at the start of the second quarter, the 39-year-old drove to the basket in his inimitable style and sank the ball with his left hand.

James finished the memorable game with 26 points, making him the Lakers' top scorer. "To be the first player to do something is pretty cool in this league. Just knowing the history, the greats that this league has produced," said the exceptional athlete. James has been particularly impressive in his 21 years in the NBA thanks to his consistency. For more than 1,200 games, or 17 years, he has always scored at least ten points.

Spectators stood up
"I feel like I'm still able to do the things on the court that I did ten years ago and some of the things I did 20 years ago," said the former champion, who scored his last 10,000 points in as many games as his first. "King James" now stands at exactly 40,017 points in regular season games. This means he has long been number one on the all-time scoring list. He surpassed the 38,387 points of the previous leader Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in February 2023.

While the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder was interrupted for ten minutes back then, this time against Denver the crowd waited until the next timeout before paying tribute to James. The crowd stood up to applaud and a video was played in the arena.

However, even James could not prevent the defeat against the defending champions. Nikola Jokic shone with 35 points, ten rebounds and seven assists to lead Denver to its sixth win in a row. The Nuggets have been unbeaten since the All-Star break. The champions are third in the Western Conference with a season record of 42:19 wins. The Lakers, on the other hand, are just about in a play-in spot with a 33-29 record.