LeBron James achieves feat that only his Lakers teammate has a chance to match

Another day, another record for LeBron James.
Los Angeles Clippers v Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Clippers v Los Angeles Lakers | Luke Hales/GettyImages

From a statistical perspective, no player in NBA history truly compares to Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James. Between his unprecedented longevity and his legacy-defining consistency, James has been a statistical metronome from his second season to his 22nd.

As James prepares for yet another All-NBA honor to come his way, he achieved yet another unfathomable feat in the closing weeks of the 2024-25 regular season.

James is already the NBA's all-time leading scorer at 41,871 career points scored. It's a remarkable accomplishment on its own, let alone when one considers that he's the only player in Association history to eclipse 40,000 career regular-season points.

In his breathtaking 22nd season, James took that separation from the pack to another level when he became the first player to score 50,000 career points between the regular season and playoffs.

It's an incredible feat that may never be matched—and only James' superstar teammate seems to have an outside shot at doing so.

LeBron James opens the 50,000-point club

James currently sits at 41,871 regular season and 8,162 postseason points scored. Both have him sitting comfortably at No. 1 all-time, which is equally as impressive as reaching 50,000 points overall—or, at least close to it.

It's hard to imagine any active player catching James in any of those statistics, as the No. 2 active player in both areas is Kevin Durant at 30,240 in the regular season and 4,985 in the playoffs.

If anyone has an outside shot, however, it may be James' new Lakers teammate: Luka Doncic. It's hard to imagine at this stage, but in his seventh season, Doncic ranks No. 3 in NBA history in regular season points per game and No. 2 in postseason scoring average.

If Doncic does the impossible and mirrors James' longevity, those averages certainly suggest he could reach the heights James has turned into the new standard.

In his seventh season, Doncic is currently at 12,295 points in the regular season and 1,546 in the playoffs. By comparison, James was at 15,251 in the regular season and 3,275 in the playoffs through his first seven seasons—admittedly large margins between them.

In saying that, Doncic still has 22 regular season games and a postseason ahead of him in 2024-25—meaning the distance could be closed even further.

It's also worth noting that Doncic has made runs to the Conference Finals or further in two of the past three postseasons, scoring 475 and 635 points respectively. In no world will Doncic catch James by the end of 2024-25, but injury absences must be factored in—the same way James' late-career injuries impeded him.

The odds of Doncic catching James are astronomical, but the fact that the Lakers have two players who belong in the discussion is quite a statement.

Schedule