If LeBron knew how often we wrote about him, his favorite song easily would be “Why Always Me” by Sam Kramer. It seems every season, there’s one question the King must answer, some scores he must settle, and doubts he must remove. It’s a nearly endless barrage of “Will LeBron ever be able to…” questions, and time and time again, the answer has been a LeBron sidestep three or a buzzer-beater dunk of a yes!
But the show must go on, and we must ask our own questions. Case in point: Will LeBron Raymone James Sr. be the first player in NBA history to reach 40,000 points? The answer is surely yes, and here’s how.
The first thing we have to look at is who does he need to beat to reach 40,000 points. Which player in the history of the NBA has the most points? And surprise, surprise, it’s the King again. With 38,694 points, nobody else in the history of balls going in nets has scored more, with Kevin Durant and James Harden the only active players closest to LeBron with 26,949 and 24,693 points, respectively — closest, but mind the gap.
What this means is that our deliberations should be on whether The Beard or KD would reach LeBron’s current tally before even worrying if anyone can beat the King to 40,000 points. It is literally his for the taking, and it is only a matter of when, not if.
In his most recent outing, against the Orlando Magic, LeBron netted 19 points, helping lead his team to a narrow 106-103 victory. When the two teams face each other again in a few days, he’ll be hoping to gain a few more points, as this last game was lower-scoring than his average of 23. Fans of online gambling in Florida and California will surely be keeping a close eye on both team’s odds ahead of the game—although the Lakers are much more favored than the Magic for the overall title, yesterday’s close call and LeBron’s lower score than average means that nothing is guaranteed.
With that said, LeBron James does not just talk the talk; he continues to walk the walk graciously, bagging an impressive list of awards and an enviable number of achievements and accolades.
The world knew it had remarkable talent on its hands from James’ time as a freshman in St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, where he held an impressive record of 101 wins to 6 losses.
Already destined to be an NBA all-time great, in his first game for the Cleveland Cavaliers, he scored 25 points and 6 rebounds and helped himself to 9 assists. The 18-year-old in his first year won the Rookie of the Year award and was featured on the All-Rookie First Team.
In his first stint with the Cavaliers that ended in 2010, he was 6x NBA All-Star, 2x NBA All-Star MVP, and NBA scoring champion in 2008, to name a few. He moved on to the Miami Heat to be crowned two-time NBA champion in 2012 and 2013, where he was the final’s MVP both times and 4x NBA All-Star.
His second stint with the Cavaliers saw him crowned NBA champion in 2016, where he was the finals MVP, 4x NBA All-Star, and voted AP athlete of the year. And now with the Lakers, he was NBA Champion in 2020, where he was the final’s MVP, 5x NBA All-Star, voted by Time as the athlete of the year in 2020, and surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time points scoring record of 38,387 with Kareem in attendance to be the undisputed number one in NBA history.
Take a deep breath because that’s a lot of points and a lot of records. You can’t help but take your hats off to the professionalism and longevity that LeBron James’ career represents. The King has been in the NBA for 21 years, tied with Robert Parish, Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Garnett, and Kevin Willis, only second to Vince Carter, who played for 22 seasons.
Bar some freakish injury, 40,000 points is all but assured this season. If not this, then next season for sure, because the King is going nowhere. It is easy to be carried away by the exploits of new cats on the scene, like Jokić, Giannis, and Embiid, but like Eminem said:
“…you’re moving onto the next, but is the respect gone?”
– Kings Never Die.
