The Los Angeles Lakers can brag about having most of the legends of the game play for them at some point in their careers.
Currently, LeBron James is making history for them every single time he sets foot on the court, as he keeps pushing the all-time scoring record even further.
James just become the very first player to top the 40,000-point plateau in NBA history, and it’s hard to think of someone who could ever come close to that.
To put it in context, he’s now scored more points than both Larry Bird and Magic Johnson combined, and he’s cleared the legendary Kareem Abdul-Jabbar — who held the scoring record until this season — by almost 1,200 points.
That’s why Kevin Durant tipped his cap to his colleague, praising him for the “insane” milestone he has been able to accomplish (via Duane Rankin).
"Insane. Congrats to LeBron."
Kevin Durant on #NBA all-time leading scorer LeBron James reaching 40K career point total in Saturday's game against Denver to become the first player in league history to ever accomplish that. #LakeShow #Suns pic.twitter.com/9ZusvDluS1
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) March 3, 2024
This is the ultimate compliment, as it comes from someone who’s considered by most to be the greatest pure scorer in the history of the game.
Ironically, however, Durant’s career points per game average is just slightly higher than LeBron’s (27.9 to 27.1), so the fact that James has never been considered a scorer is kind of mind-boggling at this point.
One may or may not think of James as the greatest player to ever do it, and both stances are more than valid.
What no one, not even his most visceral detractor, can deny is that he’s one of the best to ever lace them up, and it’ll be impossible to erase his mark from basketball history books.
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