GOAT LeBron James becomes the first player to score 40,000 NBA points

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James made history on Saturday night, becoming the first NBA player to score 40,000 points.

James needed nine points to reach the record and did so with a spinning layup at the basket in the second quarter of the contest against the Denver Nuggets.

'The King' had mixed feelings about reaching the record and creating NBA history as the Lakers suffered a 124-114 loss to the reigning champions.

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According to Bein Sport, James said: "I hate that this happened in a defeat. Especially against a team that plays great basketball, we couldn't win. It's bittersweet. But I enjoyed every moment on the court."

After breaking such a momentous record in basketball history, let's look back at his major scoring milestones throughout his illustrious career.

According to the History website, LeBron James made his debut in the NBA as an 18-year-old rookie for the Cleveland Cavaliers on October 29, 2003.

In his first game against the Sacramento Kings, James scored 25 points, with his first ever points being a 16-foot jump shot off an assist from Ricky Davis, opening his points tally.

ESPN reported James made NBA history in February 2004, becoming the youngest player in NBA history to record 1000 career points.

At 19 years and 41 days old, James broke the 1000-point mark in a game against the Boston Celtics in which he scored 24 points before being injured.

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Only a GOAT could bag a 50-piece on his way to breaking another incredible career landmark.

A 21-year-old James needed 45 points to beat Kobe Bryant to become the youngest player to reach 5000 points, and in January 2006 he did, torching the Utah Jazz with 51 points, according to the Guinness World Records.

It took 'King James' 368 games to join the 10,000 points club, being the ninth fastest player to reach the milestone in NBA history at the time.

Like he did to break the 1000-point mark, James broke the 10,000-point mark against the Boston Celtics, where again injuries hindered his performance, scoring 26 points.

The NBA website reported that James hit the career mark with 2:45 left in the second quarter, becoming the 38^th quickest player to reach the milestone and the youngest ever player to reach it, at 28 years and 17 days old.

'The King' became the seventh player in NBA history to reach the 30,000-point landmark, after hitting a jump shot with one second left in the first quarter against the San Antonio Spurs, according to ESPN.

James joined the best of the best in reaching such a landmark, including Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Karl Malone, and Dirk Nowitzki.

According to the NBA website, from one GOAT to the next, James passed Michael Jordan, his childhood hero and the man many people compare him to in career points, on March 6th, 2019.

James scored 32,293^rd career points in a driving layup against the Denver Nuggets to move into the top four career points in NBA history.

On January 25th, 2020, James passed Kobe Bryant to third on the scoring list with 29 points the day before Bryant's tragic death in a helicopter crash that killed eight people in Calabasas, as reported by ESPN.

James scribbled 'Mamba 4 Life' on his sneakers in his pursuit to pass the basketball great in the game before his death. Bryant finished his career with 33,643 career points.

After passing Karl Malone in second on March 19, 2022, James became the second player in history to reach 38,000 points against the Philadelphia 76ers in January 2023, according to the NBA website.

After joining the 38,000 points club, the whole basketball world was waiting in anticipation for James to break the record of all NBA records.

James hit a fade-away jump shot with a minute left in the third quarter to pass up Abdul Jabbar, becoming the NBA's greatest-ever scorer.

On March 2^nd, 2024, James became the first player to reach the 40,000-point mark, scoring 26 points in 37 minutes against the Nuggets, according to the NBA website.

As reported by Bein Sport, James said: "Being the first to do this is great because you know the league's history, the greats who played here, and you also see the great players who were here tonight."

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