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LeBron James became the first NBA player to reach 40,000 career regular-season points on Saturday, the 39-year-old superstar scoring nine against defending champion Denver to achieve the milestone. James, who just over a year ago overtook Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the NBA’s all-time scoring mark, is a four-time NBA champion and four-time NBA Most Valuable Player as well as the league’s oldest active player, now in his 21st campaign. “It’s a huge, huge testimony to all the work he has put in all over these years, how well he has taken care of himself, the way he has played at a high level,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said of James ahead of the game.
“It’s a hell of an accomplishment.”
After scoring five points in the first quarter, James sank a layup 14 seconds into the second quarter to pull within two of the milestone, then missed a free throw and on the next Laker possession missed a 3-point shot.
James scored the historic basket with 10:39 remaining in the second quarter, banking in a driving layup from the left side of the basket.
The crowd gave James a standing ovation after he made the basket. The ball James used to score the milestone hoop was removed from the game.
James scored his first basket of the game on a fast break layup 6:20 into the opening quarter to give the Lakers an 18-12 lead, then added a 3-pointer from the left corner 63 seconds later for a 23-14 advantage.
In anticipation of reaching the milestone, James said it won’t rank among his greatest feats but the 40,000-point mark is meaningful.
