WATCH: LeBron James becomes second player in NBA history to reach 38,000 career points
LeBron James is one of the greatest basketball players ever to play the sport. He’s accomplished things in his career that few could ever have dream of, which has been difficult enough by itself. But he was arguably the most hyped recruit in sports history and it’s never easy to live up to that kind of hype. James has lived up to the hype and then some, which is impressive considering how much attention he received nationally from such a young age. On Sunday night against the Philadelphia 76ers, he accomplished something only one other NBA player has ever done, score 38,000 points during his spectacular career.
Check out the highlight here from the NBA Twitter account.
Currently, James sits at No. 2 on the NBA’s all-time scoring leader list. The only player ahead of him is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387 points).
It’s been a rough season for the LA Lakers, and they currently sit at 19-24 overall, but that hasn’t stopped James from accomplishing more individual accolades and history. More than all the records and rings he’s racked up during his unbelievable career, one of the most understated parts of James’ game has been his longevity and ability to play at an extremely high level for such a long period of time.
He’s been in the NBA since 2003 and has won four NBA crowns and four NBA Finals MVP trophies. Not only that, he’s also won four NBA MVP trophies (2009, 2010, 2012, 2013). While it was impressive to watch him win four NBA championships, it was pretty spectacular watching him team up with other Team USA superstars in the Olympics for USA Basketball. He was critical in helping bring the gold medal back for USA in 2008 and 2012. During a game against Australia, James stuffed the stat sheet with 11 points, 14 rebounds, and 12 assists, recording the first triple-double in U.S. basketball history.
In 2022, he became the first and only player in NBA history to accumulate over 10,000 career points, rebounds, and assists.
Coming out of St. Vincent-St. Mary (Akron, Ohio), James was easily the most hyped basketball prospect of all-time. He was named three-time Mr. Basketball in the state of Ohio (2001, 2002, and 2003). Not only that, but he also earned Gatorade National Player of the Year honors two years in high school. Few athletes have ever garnered as much attention and national recognition as he did at an extremely young age. Perhaps more impressive than any record or accomplishment he’s ever put in his trophy case, is the fact that he not only lived up to that hype, but exceeded it.