LeBron James has been the benchmark for domination and longevity throughout his career, with the King performing at the very highest level since he was drafted in 2003.
LeBron burst onto the scene as a star and since then has been breaking record after record in the NBA. On Tuesday, he became the youngest player to reach 36,000 points in NBA history.
James becomes the third player to ever reach this milestone in the NBA, only Karl Malone and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar have managed more points over the course of their careers.
LeBron holds the record for being the youngest player to reach every 1,000 point mark in the NBA, right from 1,000 to now 36,000. His consistency has set the sort of record that players will struggle to break in the future.
Sitting at 36,001 after the game ended, LeBron is now just 927 points away from taking 2nd place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list away from Utah Jazz legend Malone.
He’s still a fair way off of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s incredible 38,387 but has also played 228 games less than the legend. With James not looking like he’ll slow down anytime soon, that record could also be within his sights. Kareem and LeBron have recently disagreed off the court as well, which could be added incentive for the King.
James will turn 37 on Thursday, having been in the league since the age of 18. Considering that Kareem was 42 when he retired, King James will most likely become the youngest to reach 37,000 and 38,000 points, should he manage to stay healthy.
The 36-year-old scored 32 points as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Houston Rockets 132-123 and pulled themselves to within half a game of the 6th seed Los Angeles Clippers.
James has 4 NBA Championships to his name and despite ominous signs early in the season, he will be aiming to get his 5th this season if the Lakers can rally and make a push in the latter part of the season.
