LeBron James Is 1 Point Away From Huge Milestone

LeBron James will soon become the first player in NBA history to score 50,000 combined points in the regular season and postseason. If James suits up Tuesday night, he'll need just one point to set the mark during the Los Angeles Lakers' game against the New Orleans Pelicans. James got to 49,999 points Sunday night when he scored 17 as the Lakers beat the Clippers 108-102 for their sixth consecutive win, the AP reports. The 40-year-old James already has become the top scorer in NBA history in both the regular season and the playoffs during a career in which he has rewritten all previous definitions of basketball longevity.

James will reach 50,000 points deep into his 22nd season, which ties him with Vince Carter for the most played in NBA history. Lakers great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who played 20 seasons, is second in NBA history with 44,149 combined points. And while nearly every other NBA player who lasted to his late 30s finished at a fraction of his peak powers, James' game shows no significant signs of decline in his 40s. He was named the NBA's Western Conference player of the month earlier Tuesday after he averaged 29.3 points, 10.5 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 1.2 steals in February while playing more than 35 minutes per game for the Lakers, who went 9-2 to surge into second place in the West.

• James began Tuesday at third in NBA history with 1,547 regular-season games played, trailing only Robert Parish (1,611) and Abdul-Jabbar (1,560). If he stays healthy and elects to return for a record 23rd season, he will likely surpass Parish next winter.
• James has also played in 287 postseason games, the most in NBA history. He became the league's career playoff scoring leader on May 25, 2017, when he surpassed Michael Jordan's total of 5,987 during the Cleveland Cavaliers' Eastern Conference finals game at Boston.
• James then became the top scorer in regular-season history on Feb. 7, 2023, when he topped Abdul-Jabbar's record of 38,387 points during a Lakers game against Oklahoma City.

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