Ageless Ace LeBron James Becomes First to Score 50,000 Points in NBA Regular Season and Playoffs

March 6, 2025 journo

Credit: Erik Drost via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

LeBron James has become the first player in NBA history to score a combined 50,000 points across all games, season and postseason.

He made the record with a three-pointer in the first quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers’ 136-115 win over the New Orleans Pelicans, in which he scored 34.

Talk about longevity.

“I mean, that’s a lot of points,” James said afterward, rubbing his beard in wonder, (we’re right there with you LeBron.)

“Obviously, the first thing that comes to mind is where I’m from. Picking up the game when I was a little kid and having a love for the sport, and hoping that someday I’d be able to play at the highest level. I’ve been able to do that and really enjoy my career. So it’s definitely an honor. It’s pretty cool to see that.”

Across his joint-most-ever seasons in the NBA of 22, LeBron is gradually leaving other greats of the game behind. Kareem Abdul-Jabar is fading into the review mirror with his 44,149 points across 20 seasons.

50,000 points wasn’t a record set by another player—LeBron already was the NBA’s all-time highest scorer across regular season and playoffs—it’s just a nice round number unlikely to be touched for a long time.

During the game, the Lakers’ stadium announcer took the first time-out as an occasion to inform the crowd they had been witness to history, with James acknowledging the standing ovation with several waves from the bench.

The other longevity record left to break would be all-time games played, one he would likely make his own if he returned for another season and stayed fit and available, as he is less than one regular season’s worth of games behind Jabar, and Robert Parish who holds the record with 1,611.

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If he were to return for a 23rd season at the age of 41, it wouldn’t be a testimonial either. As his points total against the Pelicans on Tuesday suggests, James keeps up his high-standards. He was named the NBA’s Western Conference player of the month for February, averaging 35 minutes per game, 29.3 points, 10.5 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 1.2 steals. He also holds the NBA’s record for most player of the month awards (41).

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AP reports that James has also played in 287 postseason games, the most in NBA history. He became the league’s career playoff scoring leader almost a decade ago, when he surpassed Michael Jordan’s total of 5,987 during his time with Cleveland in 2017.

His performances throughout his career have verged on inevitable, and by far the best piece of LeBron trivia is his scoring streak. Since January of 2007, James has scored at least 10 points in each of the 1,278 consecutive games he has played in since then.

Talk about fine wine.

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