In part 2, let’s look at the stats that show how special LeBron James has been on his way to reaching the NBA record 40,000 points.
On the morning of March 3, LeBron James officially reached the milestone of 40,000 points in his NBA career. This is a journey that has lasted 21 years, proving the class of one of the greatest basketball players in history.
More importantly, it’s not over yet because the more James plays, the more points he scores and the bigger his advantage over his pursuers becomes.
But before talking about the future, let’s take a look back at LeBron James’ 40,000-point journey with 40 statistics and special indexes that the “39-year-old talent” has achieved.
These points are viewed by CBS through many aspects, from his unmatched durability to the special ways LeBron “plowed points” throughout his 21 years playing in the NBA.
IMPRESSIVE INDICATORS
14. LeBron has scored more points in his career than Larry Bird and Magic Johnson combined, with 40,000 points compared to 39,498.
15. James could score no more points in the next 125 games and still average 25.0 points per game for his career, which is more than many NBA legends including LeBron’s late brother Kobe Bryant.
16. It’s been five years since LeBron James surpassed Michael Jordan, who is often mentioned alongside LeBron in the race for “GOAT – Greatest Basketball Player in History” (March 6, 2019)
17. If you take out all the 3-pointers and free throws he’s ever made in his career, LeBron James still has more points than Kevin Durant at this point.
18. If you count the Playoffs plus the Regular Season, LeBron James’ total points are over 48,000 points, not 40,000.
19. It took LeBron just 1 season (MVP season 2012-13) to score 18,879 points, more than the legendary Tracy McGrady had in her entire 15-year career (18,381 points).
It took LeBron James just one season to reach the total points that T-Mac Tracy McGrady scored in his entire career
20. LeBron James is rarely ejected for six personal fouls. But since the last time (April 2017), he has scored 11,000 points.
21. James alone has 14 50-point games in his career, equaling the total number of 50-point games the entire Boston Celtics have ever had in team history.
22. Even more incredibly, LeBron has had more 50-point games (14) than he has scored under 10 points (8).
23. If James’ 82 career low-scoring games were taken as a regular season, he would still average 12.6 points per game, matching Hall of Famer Jason Kidd’s career PPG.
24. Somehow, LeBron James has never scored 49 points in a regular season game. LeBron has had all those other numbers in 1,475 appearances.
25. LeBron won his only Scoring Champ title in the 2007-08 season, leading the entire NBA with an average of 30.0 points per game. James was 24 at the time and Kevin Durant was a rookie.
26. LeBron could miss 304 consecutive shots and still hit 50.0% of his FGs.
27. Despite his excellent scoring, LeBron James does not hold the record for scoring against any opposing team in the NBA.
28. The first players to score 30,000, 35,000 and 40,000 points were all from the Los Angeles Lakers: Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and LeBron James, respectively.
29. Of the 30 teams in the NBA, the Chicago Bulls are the opponent LeBron James has scored the most points against in his career.
SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENTS
30. LeBron James holds the record for the most points scored in a game in Miami Heat history (61 points on March 4, 2014 vs Charlotte).
31. He has the most 30-point games with 50% FG in NBA history with 429 games.
32. LeBron had a streak of 13 consecutive games scoring 25 points and hitting 50% FG last season, equaling the longest streak in NBA history (along with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Shaquille O’Neal).
