LeBron James continues his ascent towards the top of the NBA's all-time scoring list.
With a free-throw late in the second quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers meeting with the Brooklyn Nets, James surpassed the 35,000 career point mark in the 30th game of his 18th season in the NBA. After surpassing Kobe Bryant as the league's third all-time scoring leader last season, James only trails Karl Malone (36,928 points) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387 points) on the all-time scoring list.
With this free throw, LeBron James becomes the 3rd player in NBA history to reach 35,000 career points, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone!
— NBA (@NBA) February 19, 2021
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James, 36, becomes the youngest player in league history to reach the 35,000-point plateau. Malone was 39 when he scored his 35,000th point while Abdul-Jabbar did so at age 38.
In LeBron's 18th NBA season, he is performing at an MVP level with averages of 25.7 points, 8.2 rebounds and 7.9 assists for a Lakers team that remains towards the top of the Western Conference standings. Prior to the season, James signed a contract extension that will keep him with Los Angeles through the 2022-23 NBA season.
Congrats to @KingJames on becoming the 3rd player in NBA history to reach 35,000 career points, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone! pic.twitter.com/F1JnPHq5se
— NBA (@NBA) February 19, 2021
Given his current trajectory, James could reach the 36,000-point before the season's end and should surpass Malone on the all-time scoring list during the 2021-22 season. LeBron could have an opportunity to become the league's all-time leading scorer before his contract is up at the end of the 2022-23 campaign.
With respect to other milestones, the four-time MVP is also within 400 rebounds of the career 10,000 rebound mark and within 500 assists of reaching 10,000 for his career.
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