On 2 March 2024, LeBron James became the first player in NBA history to reach 40,000 career points. It happened at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, before a full home crowd. He walked into the game just nine points short.
A driving layup opens the second quarter
James missed an airball on his first attempt of the night. He answered in transition with a layup, then added a corner three, and left the floor with five first-quarter points.
Back on court to open the second quarter, he drove past Denver's Michael Porter Jr., spun, and finished with a left-handed layup. The clock read 10:39 when the milestone basket fell.
At the next timeout he took a standing ovation, and coach Darvin Ham patted his chest. James raised the ball over his head, then posed with a page reading "40,000" — a nod to Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game on the same date in 1962.
A record set, a game lost
James had already passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the league's all-time scorer in February 2023. He entered this night averaging 27.1 points across 1,474 games in 21 seasons, and finished with 26 for a career total of 40,017. The Lakers lost 124-114 to the Denver Nuggets, an eighth straight defeat to that team.
"Being the first player to do something, it's pretty cool in this league," James told reporters afterwards. "But for me, the main thing, as always, is to win, and I hated that it had to happen in a defeat."
The number now stands alone at the top of the sport. For James, the story reads as one of longevity as much as scoring.
