LeBron James scored 26 points in the game in which he reached 40,000 career points. He achieved the milestone on March 2, 2024, when the Los Angeles Lakers faced the Denver Nuggets at Crypto.com Arena.
James reached the mark during the second quarter with a left-handed layup. The basket gave him exactly 40,000 regular-season points, making him the first player in NBA history to reach that total. He finished the game with 26 points, nine assists, and four rebounds, bringing his career total to 40,017 points.
The milestone came during James's 21st NBA season, which made the achievement a landmark of both scoring ability and longevity. He had already passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA's regular-season scoring leader in 2023. Reaching 40,000 extended that record into territory no other NBA player had previously entered.
A common mistake is to assume he scored 40 points in the milestone game. The 40,000 figure was his cumulative career total, while his performance in that particular Lakers game was 26 points. Denver won 124–114.