During Saturday night’s home game between his Los Angeles Lakers and the Denver Nuggets, LeBron James scored more than 40,000 points in his career, cementing his spot in the NBA record books.

Prior to the game, James, who had held the record for the most career points in the professional basketball league since the previous year, was just nine points shy of accomplishing the feat. James reached 40,000 points on a layup in the second quarter, and he made sure he exceeded the threshold with another layup.

Fans in Los Angeles leaped to their feet as soon as James hit the historic milestone. Following a stoppage, there was a small ceremony and a video play at the venue called “LeBron James ‘Scoring King’ Career Mixtape,” which honoured some of James’ accomplishments.

During the first half of an NBA basketball game on Saturday in Los Angeles, Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James gave a shoutout to the crowd after scoring to become the first NBA player to reach 40,000 points in a career.Terrill, Mark J. / AP
The athlete, who has four NBA championships under his belt, described the moment he realised he had created history with the first layup as “special,” as he looked towards his 9-year-old daughter Zhuri.#LeBronJames

 James remarked, “My daughter was just clapping, and you know like pumping her arms up in the air,” at the news conference held after the game. That was a really awesome moment, then. I blew her a kiss, and she returned the favor.”

James finished with 26 points, but the excitement of the evening was short-lived as the Lakers lost 114-124 in the fourth quarter following a 9-point surge by the reigning champions.

It was uncertain whether James will be on the court on Saturday night.

James’ left ankle soreness and swelling were the reason the Lakers had categorised him as questionable for the Nuggets game, according to a source that was corroborated by LakersNation.com and the NBA on Friday. However, James has a track record of playing, and playing well, regardless of his listing.

While Lakers supporters rejoiced over another historic achievement for James, his career total was also boosted by his play for the Miami Heat and the Cleveland Cavaliers, the team in his home state.

James will turn 40 later this year, thus his exceptional results have coincided with the age at which nearly all professional athletes must retire.

James, this year as the West’s captain, made history in February by being the first NBA player to start in 20 All-Star games. In his self-imposed 14 minutes of action, he scored 8 points, and the East won 211-186.

At the time, James declared, “My health is definitely the most important thing for me.”

With his anticipated return to the Toronto Raptors next season, he will tie Vince Carter, the eight-time All-Star and retired guard-forward from the Toronto Raptors, for the most seasons played with 22. He has played more minutes than any other NBA player, past or present.

But even with all of his successes, he still has career aspirations.

James has stated that he hopes to play in the NBA with his kids, shooting guard Bryce from Sierra Canyon School, a sophomore in high school, and combo guard Bronny from University of Southern California, a freshman.

In a home game against the Oklahoma Thunder on February 7, 2023, James surpassed former Laker Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record of 38,387 points with his 38,388th point. With this accomplishment, he became the all-time highest scorer.

James, surpassing Abdul-Jabbar’s record, said that hitting 40,000 is like having another symbolic child in his career, valuable but not nearly as important as his firstborn, following the Lakers’ 134-131 overtime victory over the Washington Wizards on Thursday.

“No one has ever done it,” he said of scoring 40,000 career points at the postgame news conference on Thursday. “For me to be in this position at this point in time in my career, I think it’s pretty cool. Does it sit at the top of the things I’ve done in my career? No. Does it mean something? Of course. Absolutely. Why wouldn’t it?”

It’s not a given that you will continue to top the league in points all time.

There is only one other active player in the current top 10 career scorers, Kevin Durant of the Phoenix Suns, who had 38,113 points through Friday and may have plenty more to come at age 35.

James’ record may be under threat from a lot of younger players as the globe evaluates his legacy.

The Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Dončić, a Slovenian forward-guard, was the top scorer of the 2023–24 campaign. He scored his 10,000th NBA point on Christmas Eve against the Phoenix Suns with a 3-pointer. He turned 25 on Wednesday.

The top five scorers of the season were Durant, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks, Donovan Mitchell Jr. of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks.

James’ 31-point effort on Thursday helped the Lakers defeat the Wizards, bringing him nine points away from the 40,000 point milestone.

James stated that he still holds the record for most points scored at the post-game press conference, and he made it plain that he will protect his stronghold.

“It was never a goal of mine when I came into the league, like I wanted to be the all-time leading scorer,” he said.

“But I’m still playing, so…” he said, trailing off.

“It’s going to continue to go up,” he said of his career total, “until I’m done playing.”