On February 27, 2008, against his chief nemesis, the Boston Celtics , LeBron James scored 10,000 points for his NBA career. 3.625 days later, King James , now at age 33, scored 30,000 career points after sinking a left-wing jumper against the San Antonio Spurs. Head coach Greg Popovich — a Bron fan despite their many battles over the years — watched on and was ready to congratulate the Cleveland Cavaliers star.
Fast forward more than six years to March 2, 2024, in a game against the Denver Nuggets. The four-time MVP became the first player in league history to strike 40,000 points, a fantasy moment that came 388 days after James passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most points in NBA history.
The Los Angeles Lakers star has defied the laws of longevity beyond description. He's a one-of-a-kind athlete, a basketball android that was sent to Earth to break records and set them so far ahead that even thinking about them being broken is laughable.
Still a prime LBJ?
As timeless as LeBron is, his game isn't quite quaint. He's a 6'9" forward who still foils logic, albeit not like he once did, when his striking athleticism was often enough to get his teams past the league's fiercest defenses. But that just hammers home the point of how otherworldly he was when he was younger.
While he certainly relies on his sheer physical abilities at times on the court, James has adapted his game to the point that he shot a career-best 41.0% from the 3-point line in Year 21. For what he's lost in the mobility department, he has more than made up with an elite outside shot and a basketball IQ that is terrifyingly sharp.
That alone gives No. 23 fuel to play a few more seasons at an elevated level, much less earning All-Star and All-NBA appearances. The league's all-time leading scorer is already pacing to break several more records; achieving other accolades has become ho-hum.
"No cap! LeBron is gonna make a few All-NBA Teams before he retires, and I mean at a minimum [of] two," says Kendrick Perkins . "He's gonna always put everything into the game of basketball. … If he's on the floor, you better believe we are gonna get the best of LeBron James. Don't give me anything about his age… as long as he's on the floor, LeBron James is gonna be an All-NBA-caliber player, and he's gonna make a few of them before he retires."
Related: "Y'all better trade me today" - Dominique Wilkins recalls his immediate reaction after being drafted by Utah Jazz in 1982
It's all second nature
Speaking of pushing records so far out, the four-time champion secured his 16th All-NBA Team selection at the end of the 2019 regular season, which was a new NBA record — and that was four years ago.
Even with James supposedly declining, he has garnered All-NBA Third Team in three straight seasons, with only nick-nack injuries perhaps keeping him from a higher honor. While LeBron's teams have fallen short of expectations in the win column — a win-loss record of 254-217 for the Lakers since the 2018 season (LeBron's first) — in the majority of his seasons in Los Angeles.
LA missing the postseason twice since 2018 has somewhat been overshadowed by No. 23's fitness marvel. Behind the many basket attacks, shots from the logo, and the occasional breakaway tomahawk dunks is a player who produces as much in the weight room with the same intensity as he did when he was 27.
While his genius has been revolutionary on the court, it is even more off the court, which has become arguably the biggest of the numerous reasons to believe in LeBron's ability to pile up more awards as he crosses age 40.
Related: Savannah James admits that she and LeBron might not have ended up together if the Cavs hadn't drafted him: "I don't know what would have happened"
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