LeBron James has entered the history books yet again.
The Lakers superstar already sent NBA fans yet another reminder of his greatness earlier in the week, outscoring the Clippers by himself in the final quarter on the way to a 116-112 win.
James and the Lakers overcame a 21-point deficit in the process, steering the 39-year-old the biggest fourth-quarter comeback win of his 21-year career.
Now, James has added another chapter to his illustrious career after bringing up 40,000 career points.
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James reached the figure in a 124-114 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Sunday afternoon, having entered the game needing just nine points to become the first player to achieve the feat.
James airballed his first field goal attempt and was largely selfless early, helping get his Lakers teammates going instead with a pair of assists before getting his first bucket of the night to put L.A. ahead of Denver 18-12 midway through the first quarter.
James later drained a 3-pointer and then opened the second quarter by driving through contact for a potential and-1 opportunity, only to miss the ensuing free throw.
The 39-year-old missed his next 3-point attempt but still was just two points shy of the 40,000-point mark, meaning it was only a matter of time.
In fact, it took just over 30 seconds for James to put on a silky spin move and make a driving layup to bring up the milestone.
James finished the game with a team-high 26 points but it was not enough as Denver outscored L.A. 35-25 in the fourth quarter.
Nikola Jokic had 35 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in the win while Michael Porter Jr. was a perfect 10-for-10 from the field with 25 points.
Speaking after the Lakers’ overtime win over the Wizards on Friday, James said it was “pretty cool” to be on the brink of making NBA history.
“I mean, I can’t sit here and say no, because, of course, I mean, no one has ever done it,” James said.
“And 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 my things I’ve done in my career? No. But does it mean something? Of course. Absolutely. Why wouldn’t it?
“To be able to accomplish things in this league, the greatest players to ever play in this league, the NBA and this has been a dream of mine, and to hit feats and have milestones throughout my career. They all mean something to me. Absolutely.
“Obviously, there’s a pecking order, which one is higher than others, but yeah, absolutely. I would be lying to you if I said no, it doesn’t mean anything. Because it absolutely does.”
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James surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s previous all-time NBA scoring record of 38,387 against the Thunder last year, although the Lakers went on to lose that game 133-130.
The 39-year-old told reporters after the win over the Wizards that he never has put thought into getting the scoring record.
“It just happened organically,” James added.
“I just played the game the right way. Go out and play the game, and let the game come to me, and the scoring record happened organically.
“For me, it was never a goal of mine when I came into the league like I want to be the all-time leading scorer. But I’m still playing, and I can still score the ball, so it’s going to continue to go up until I’m done playing.”