LeBron James has made certain that his name will be forever cemented in the GOAT debates after making history on Saturday (March 2) as the NBA’s first player to amass 40,000 regular-season career points. The “kid from Akron” reached uncharted territory during the Los Angeles Lakers game against the Denver Nuggets at Crypto.com Arena.

His scorecard predecessors are as follows: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 38,387; Karl Malone 36,928; Kobe Bryant 33,643; Michael Jordan 32,292; Dirk Nowitzki 31,560; Wilt Chamberlain 31,419; Shaquille O’Neal 28,596; Kevin Durant 28,372; and Carmelo Anthony 28,289.

The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame hopeful took a page of Chamberlain’s playbook when he posed for a post-game photo in the locker room with a handwritten sign that read “40,000 […] March 2, 2024.” The photo was a reference to Chamberlain after he played his 100-point game on March 2, 1962, against the New York Knicks.

"Being the first player to do something, it's pretty cool in this league, just knowing the history, the greats that's come through the league, and then you see some of the greats on the floor tonight, it was great to compete," he told reporters. "But for me, the main thing, as always, is to win, and I hated that it had to happen in a defeat.” The game’s final score was a bittersweet 124-114. He ended the night with 26 game points.

He continued, "There's just certain things that you just don't think [are] going to happen… I guess for years, people said Kareem's record wouldn't be broken. I was able to eclipse it. But like I said, you have to have some really good luck, you have to play the game at a high level for a long time, and then we see… Been able to do it for 20-plus years, including this year.”

The four-time NBA champion celebrated his accomplishment with an Instagram post of a video highlighting various moments from the game. His caption read, “1 of 1.”

At 39, the scoring king is the oldest player in the league, debuting on October 29, 2003, on his hometown team, the Cleveland Cavaliers. James became the league's all-time scorer last month when he eclipsed Abdul-Jabbar's nearly 40-year record.

He famously passed up Bryant on January 25, 2020. The Laker great acknowledged the feat when he tweeted, “Continuing to move the game forward, King James. Much respect, my brother. #33644.”