(CNN) — The NBA’s all-time leading scorer LeBron James added yet another impressive milestone to his illustrious career Tuesday on a night where his Los Angeles Lakers cruised to a 136-115 win over the New Orleans Pelicans.
The future Hall of Famer became the first player in NBA history to score 50,000 career points across both the regular season and playoffs after making a three-pointer in the first quarter in front of an adoring home crowd at Crypto.com Arena.
The four-time NBA Most Valuable Player needed just one point to reach the achievement after having amassed 41,837 points in the regular season (first all-time) and 8,162 points in the playoffs (first all-time), equaling 49,999 combined entering Tuesday night’s game.
After the game, James was blunt when discussing the 50,000-point plateau with Spectrum SportsNet.
“I’m not going to sit here and sugarcoat it – it’s a hell of a lot of points,” the four-time NBA champion said.
“And I’m super blessed to be able to put that many points up in the best league in the world with the best players in the world over my career, so it’s pretty special.”
James finished the game with a team-high 34 points, bringing his career total to 50,033.
No other player in league history is within 5,000 points of the 50K mark. Hall of Fame center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had 44,149 combined points and sits in second place behind James on the all-time scoring list.
The closest active player to the mark is Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant at 35,225 combined points after the Suns’ 119-117 Tuesday night win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
Playing in his 22nd season, James remains one of the game’s best, averaging nearly 25 points, eight rebounds and more than eight assists per game for the Purple and Gold.
Earlier Tuesday, the 40-year-old was named Western Conference Player of the Month for February, after averaging 29.3 points, 10.5 rebounds and 6.9 assists. He is the oldest player to win a Player of the Month award as he extended his NBA-record to 41 monthly honors.
James continues to defy Father Time as he nears the end of his career as one of the greatest players in the sport’s history. After surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s regular season scoring record in 2023, James has pulled away from his competitors, becoming the first to reach 40,000 career points later that season.
The four-time Finals MVP accomplished a feat that further cemented his unparalleled longevity in the game earlier this season when he played alongside his son, Bronny James, to become the first father-son duo to take the court together in an NBA game in the league’s history.
James is a four-time NBA champion and has made a record 21 All-Star appearances, among a long list of accomplishments since being drafted first overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003.
The Los Angeles Lakers have been the hottest team in the NBA over the past month and half, thanks in large part to the stellar play of James and the acquisition of superstar Luka Dončić via trade in February. The Lakers have won 17 of their last 20 games and are riding a seven-game winning streak, the team’s longest since 2021.
The amazing run of play has seen the Lakers rise all the way to the second seed in the Western Conference after Tuesday’s win.
The-CNN-Wire
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