LeBron James just hit a number nobody in NBA history has ever touched. The Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Boston Celtics 111-89 on the night, but the scoreline was not the headline.
James became the first player in league history to reach 43,000 career points, another mark that did not exist until he made it. He already left Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record of 38,387 points in the dust back in 2023. Two years later, he is still adding to it.
At 41 and in his 23rd NBA season, James is averaging 21.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 7.1 assists per game. Boston held Los Angeles to 89 points and ran the night defensively, but none of that took anything away from what James did.
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The basketball world noticed fast.
Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark kept her reaction short on James’ IG post and said everything with one word: “King”
Hard to argue with that. What makes the number even more striking is how James gets there. He’s not a one-trick scorer. He can run an offense as a point-forward, push the pace in transition and pull up from deep when the defense gives him room. But the thing that really separates him is how he processes the game.
He reads a defense before the play develops, adjusts mid-possession and shifts gears like he is always two steps ahead. It’s a rare combination of instinct and intelligence that is held up across more than two decades.
Longevity is part of the legacy, too. James has logged 1,600 regular-season appearances without his scoring numbers falling off a cliff. That kind of sustained output simply does not have a comparison in league history.
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Up next for the Lakers is a matchup against the Orlando Magic, a chance to respond after putting up their lowest offensive total of the season. With the postseason closing in, the bigger question is not where Los Angeles is seeded.
It’s whether the Luka Doncic-James-Austin Reaves combination has found its rhythm. That’s what will matter when the games get tighter.
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