LeBron James has once again made history, becoming the first player in NBA history to score 50,000 career points across both the regular season and playoffs.
The record-breaking moment came on Tuesday night, March 4, when James drilled a three-pointer in the first quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers' 136-115 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans at Crypto.com Arena.
The NBA’s all-time leading scorer needed just one point to reach the landmark, entering the game with 49,999 combined points—41,837 in the regular season (1st all-time) and 8,162 in the playoffs (1st all-time).
Following the game, James reflected on the achievement:
“I’m not going to sit here and sugarcoat it – 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, so it’s pretty special.”
James finished the night with a team-high 34 points, bringing his career total to 50,033.
No other player in NBA history is even within 5,000 points of the 50K mark. Hall of Fame center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who previously held the all-time scoring record, ranks second with 44,149 combined points.
Among active players, the closest competitor is Kevin Durant, who currently has 35,225 points following the Phoenix Suns' 119-117 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday.
Earlier in the day, the 40-year-old superstar, now in his 22nd NBA season, was named Western Conference Player of the Month for February after averaging 29.3 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 6.9 assists. He now holds the record as the oldest player to ever win the award, extending his NBA-best total to 41 monthly honors.
LeBron’s legacy continues to grow, having already surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s regular-season scoring record in 2023 and later becoming the first player to reach 40,000 career points. With this latest milestone, he further cements his place as one of the greatest basketball players of all time.
50K CAREER POINTS for the #ScoringKing in the regular season and playoffs combined!
— NBA (@NBA) March 5, 2025
Congrats, LeBron 👑 pic.twitter.com/jseDpQwucc
