Another night, another milestone for LeBron James, although this one did indeed resonate more than most.
Becoming the first NBA player to reach 50,000 career points created a particularly alluring way to express and appreciate James’ sustained excellence over 22 seasons. Just another number, sure, but a very large one, previously unattained.
It even caused James, 40, to pause and reflect.
“It’s a hell of a lot of points, 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,” he told Spectrum SportsNet in an on-court interview after the Lakers defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 136-115 at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday.
“It’s pretty special.”
James had a couple of days to prep his remarks. He entered the game one point shy of 50,000 in regular season and playoff games combined, having long ago surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s previous record of 44,149.
Midway through the first quarter, James made a three-point shot from the wing off an assist from his exceptional new running mate, Luka Doncic. James finished with 34 points, eight rebounds and six assists, improving the Lakers’ sparkling record to 39-21.
The addition of Doncic has clearly invigorated James, who was named the Western Conference Player of the Month for averaging 29.3 points, 10.5 rebounds and 6.9 assists in February. As with most of his accomplishments these days, James is the oldest player to earn the award, which has been his 41 times.
Teaming with James has invigorated Doncic as well. The five-time All-NBA guard has scored an impressive 13,841 points in six-plus seasons. He could barely fathom 50,000.
“It’s amazing,” Doncic told reporters. “Watching him do this stuff at this age, it’s just unbelievable. Like 50K points ... it’s, I can’t even explain how insane that is. He might get to 70K, you never know.”
Karl Malone is the only player besides James and Abdul-Jabbar to reach even 40,000 points, and the closest active player is Kevin Durant with 35,225 points through Tuesday.
James is at 50,033 — and counting.
