LeBron James makes more NBA history by hitting 50,000 points, as LA Lakers team-mate Luka Doncic sets him new target
Updated 05/03/2025 at 09:39 GMT
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Another slice of NBA history has been made by the iconic LeBron James, as the four-time MVP smashed the 50,000 point mark - becoming the first player to ever do so. The Los Angeles Lakers star needed just a solitary point to achieve the feat on Tuesday night against the New Orleans Pelicans, but went on to score 34 as his side romped to a 136-115 victory.
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LeBron James made yet another piece of NBA history, becoming the first ever player to hit 50,000 career points across the regular season and post-season.
James' iconic NBA career has already seen him smash multiple records, including playing the most minutes in the league's history, as he overtook Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the feat in December.
The Los Angeles Lakers star became the youngest player to smash the 10,000-, 20,000- and 30,000-point thresholds, and his point-scoring shows no sign of slowing down.
The 40-year-old was left needing just one point to secure the new 50,000-point accolade against the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night - which he duly sunk with his first shot of the match.
"I’m not going to sit here and sugarcoat it – it’s a hell of a lot of points," the four-time NBA champion said.
"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."
He added: "I've had the opportunity to play the game that I love, and I've always been true to it, so I'm going to always try to give back."
Asked what has allowed him to consistently operate at the very highest level throughout his career, James emphasised the importance of not "falling out of love" with the game, despite the rigours of playing over 80 matches in a season.
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"Just not falling out of love with the process," James said. "Continuing to fall in love with the process, that's the hardest thing, every single year.
"You know it's going to be a long season, it's 82 games, 41 of them are on the road. It's a lot of travel.
"And as you get older, it affects you even differently. If you have a family, it affects you even differently. So, the process. Trying not to fall out of love with the process is the hardest thing."
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A view of signage after LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers reached 50,000 career points during the game against the New Orleans Pelicans
Image credit: Getty Images
James also surpassed Michael Jordan's record for most 30-point games in NBA history in January, and should he remain readily available for the Lakers next season, could also set the record number of NBA appearances - sitting 63 matches away from Robert Parish's feat of 1611.
Luke Doncic hailed James' "amazing achievement" after creating his latest piece of history, and backed his team-mate to put the record points total even further out of sight.
"It's amazing," Doncic said. "Watching him do this stuff at this age, it's just unbelievable. Like, 50K points, I can't even explain how insane that is. He might get to 70K, you never know."
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