Los Angeles
Lakers star LeBron James has passed another historic milestone in his
glittering career in the NBA so far. Going into Thursday’s encounter against the
Brooklyn Nets, James needed 15 points to become only the third player in NBA
history to have scored 35,000 points in his career.

James achieved
that feat, setting himself apart in terms of longevity and skill. The two others
to have scored over 35,000 points in the competition are Karl Malone and Kareem
Abdul-Jabbar, both having played for the Lakers as well.

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He reached the landmark with a free-throw in the second quarter for 15 points on the night and 35,000 in his career.

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At 36 years and 50 days,
James is also the youngest of the three to have reached the milestone. Adbul-Jabbar got to 35,000 points at 38 years and 352 days while Malone reached the landmark in 39 years and 131 days. 

James also became the second-youngest to 30,000 points in 2018, behind only Wilt Chamberlain. 

The Lakers star is also the fastest to reach 35,000 career points, reaching the milestone in his 1295th game, while it took Abdul-Jabbar and Malone 1,399 and 1,370 games respectively. 

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However, he is still
a long way off from catching up with the leading scorers. Malone, on second,
has 36,928 points and Abdul-Jabbar is the highest scorer of all-time with
38,387.

But James is far from done. He is still very much in his prime and doesn’t seem to be slowing down, and according to rumours and hints from himself, will play till at least the 2023-24 season. 

If he can maintain his scoring rate, of 27 per game, he will need another 72 games to surpass Malone and another 126 to top Abdul-Jabbar’s record. Also, at his current rate, he can become the first player in NBA history to reach 40,000 career points in 186 games.