Another night, LeBron James’ other milestone resonated more than most.
Being the first NBA player to reach 50,000 career points has created a particularly engaging way to express and appreciate James’ sustained excellence over 22 seasons. It’s certainly another number, but it’s very large and it wasn’t attacked before.
James, 40, even paused and reflected.
“It’s a hell of a lot of points and I’m so blessed to be able to put more points in the best league in the world with the best players in the world than my career,” he told Spectrum Sportsnet in an on-court interview after the Lakers defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 136-115 on crypto.com Arena on Tuesday.
“That’s pretty special.”
It took James a few days to prepare his remarks. He joined 50,000 shy games, combining regular season and playoff games.
Midway through the first quarter, James got a three-point shot from the wing, from an assist from his extraordinary new running mate, Luka Donsic. James finished with 34 points, eight rebounds and six assists, improving the Lakers’ sparkling record to 39-21.
The Doncic addition clearly cheered James, who was selected as Western Conference player this month, with an average of 29.3 points, 10.5 rebounds and 6.9 assists in February. Like most of his recent achievements, James was the oldest player to win an award, and was his 41st time.
The team with James also cheered Doncic. The five-time All-NBA guard scored an impressive 13,841 points in six or more seasons. He could barely guess 50,000.
“Amazing,” Donsic told reporters. “I see him do this at this age, it’s incredible like 50K points… It can’t even explain how crazy it is. He might reach 70k, you’ll never know.”
Karl Malone is the only player other than James and Abdul Jabbar to reach 40,000 points, with the closest active player at 35,225 points until Tuesday.
James is 50,033 – and counting.
