LeBron James becomes first player in NBA history to score over 39,000 career points

LeBron James is already the NBA’s career scoring leader, and on Tuesday night, he became the only player in NBA history to do so Earn 39,000 career points.

James reached the milestone with a three-pointer in the first quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers’ 131-99 victory over the Utah Jazz. He scored 17 points in 24 minutes to help the Lakers complete the group stage undefeated in the NBA in-season tournament.

“I’ve gotten congratulations from my teammates and coaches, (but) I haven’t had a chance to really understand what it means,” James said. “There’s been a lot of great players in this league since the beginning, and a lot of great scorers. To be able to do the first thing in anything, I think that’s always cool. It’s a crazy time, it’s definitely.”

James continues to perform at an elite level in his 21st season, averaging 26.4 points, 8.2 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game. At the current pace — assuming health — James should hit 40,000 points later this season.

Only seven players in NBA history Players who have scored more than 30,000 points include: James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387 points), Karl Malone (36,928 points), Kobe Bryant (33,643 points), Michael Jordan (32,292 points), Dirk Nowitzki (31,560 points) and Wilt Chamberlain (31,419 points). Of those seven, five — James, Abdul-Jabbar, Malone, Kobe and Chamberlain — spent all or part of their careers with the Lakers.

The next active player to enter the 30,000-point club is Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant. On Tuesday, he passed Elvin Hayes for 11th place on the all-time scoring list, with 27,331 career points. He still needs 2,669 points to reach 30,000 points in his career.

After Durant, Los Angeles Clippers guards James Harden and Russell Westbrook are the next active players expected to surpass 30,000 points. Harden’s career score is 24,805 points, and Westbrook’s career score is 24,615 points.

This report used information from The Associated Press.