Lakers legend LeBron James surpasses 50,000 career points, first NBA player to do so

NBA legend LeBron James pushed his combined career scoring total past 50,000 points with a first-quarter 3-pointer in Tuesday’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans, becoming the first player in the league to ever reach that record.

James, who became the NBA's all-time leading scorer in regular-season games in 2023, entered the Tuesday game with 41,837 regular-season points and 8,162 points in the regular season -- both all-time records.

Only two other players have at least 40,000 combined points: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (44,149) and Karl Malone (41,689). The 40-year-old Lakers star is currently almost 6000 points ahead of any other player in NBA history.

James's milestone-setting 3-pointer from the left wing came with 8:34 remaining in the opening period off a pass from Luka Doncic.

Los Angeles entered the game 16-3 since Jan. 21 and 6-2 in games that Doncic had played after he was acquired from the Dallas Mavericks at the trade deadline last month.

James was just selected the NBA Player of the Month for February after averaging 29.3 points, 10.5 rebounds and 6.9 assists in 11 games.

Top 5 all-time NBA scorers

LeBron James sits comfortably at the top of the all-time NBA scoring chart with 50,000 points and counting. Number two is Abdul-Jabbar's total career points tally of 44,149. Jabbar also played for the Lakers. Karl Malone takes third place with 41,689 career points.

Another Los Angeles Lakers legend late Kobe Bryant is in fourth place on the all-time list with 39,283 career points. Six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan, who played most of his career with the Chicago Bulls, is fifth. He amassed 38,279 points over his career in the league.

Among active NBA players, only Kevin Durant makes the top 10 list. He has just over 35,000 points in his career so far, roughly 15,000 points behind James.