“The King” LeBron James, the all-time leading scorer in the NBA, continued to improve his records, and became the first player to exceed the 40,000 points barrier in the history of the regular league, by scoring 26 points for his team, the Los Angeles Lakers, in the basket of its guest, the defending champion Denver Nuggets, when they lost. 114-124, Sat.
At the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, 39-year-old James, who is playing his 21st season in the league, needed only nine points to reach the 40,000-point barrier, and he achieved it in the second quarter before ending the match with 26 points with nine. He made two assists, which were not enough to spare his team from losing.
James, who snatched the top spot in the league’s all-time leading scorers from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,390 points) in February 2023, described this historic effort as “bittersweet” at the same time because his team lost the match to the remarkable brilliance of Serbian Nikola Jokic, who scored a double-double with 35. One point, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists.
James said: “Being the first player to achieve such an achievement is very wonderful in this league because you only know the history, and you know the blessing that comes through the league,” adding, “But the main thing is always winning, and I hated achieving this achievement during a defeat, especially against “The team is playing very well.”
The star, who won the league title four times and was also the best player, continued, “We played good basketball, but we were not able to finish the game. It was bittersweet, but I enjoyed every moment despite that, when I was on the court.”
Jameis scored 13 points in the last quarter, but the Nuggets succeeded in winning it in their favor by a margin of 10 points (35-25), which is the difference with which the result of the match ended in their favor after forcing a tie (89-89) at the end of the third quarter.
James reached the historic barrier of 40,000 points one minute and 21 seconds into the second quarter when he increased his team’s lead to 37-32. The crowd gave James a standing ovation during the time-out and the ball from which he scored his historic basket was taken away.
This record is calculated by the league only in regular season games. James also has 8,023 points in the playoffs.
“All of the respect and so much loyalty to the Lakers fan base because they showed me such love during the break,” James said.
Asked if he thought another player in the league could reach the 40,000 point mark, James replied: “I have no idea. You have to play games for a long time and have some good luck with injuries and things like that. You have to.” “You have to take care of your body. You have to be present on the field and then you have to be productive as well.”
Lakers coach Darvin Hamm commented on his star’s achievement, saying, “I am happy for him. It was a tremendous achievement. I was hoping we would win to enjoy it, but I take my hat off to him. An amazing and amazing career that continues to this day.”
Of all his points, James scored 23,119 points with the Cleveland Cavaliers in two terms and 11 seasons, where he started in 2003, before returning in 2014 and winning the title with him in 2016. He has 7,919 points with the Miami Heat, where he won his first two league titles ( 2012 and 2013), and now 8,979 with the Lakers, which he joined in 2018 and won the title with in 2020.
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