LeBron James becomes seventh player in NBA history to score 30,000 points
LeBron James has hit yet another career milestone.
Reluctant to view himself as a scorer, the Cleveland Cavaliers forward became the seventh player in NBA history to score 30,000 points, hitting the mark during Tuesday night's 114-102 loss against the San Antonio Spurs.
A deep jumper over Danny Green to end the first quarter put him over the mark. He immediately embraced with one of his closest friends, Dwyane Wade.
James entered the game needing just seven points to join Dirk Nowitzki (30,837), Wilt Chamberlain (31,419), Michael Jordan (32,292), Kobe Bryant (33,643), Karl Malone (36,928) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387) in the exclusive club.
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NBA commissioner Adam Silver issued a statement on James' achievement: "Congratulations to LeBron on reaching 30,000 points - yet another milestone in an extraordinary career that continues to inspire."
Not only did the 33-year-old James become the youngest to reach 30,000 points, he is also the fourth-fastest to do it (by number of games played) — behind Abdul-Jabbar, Jordan and Chamberlain.
James' career scoring average is 27.1, and he has averaged at least 25 points a season every year outside of his rookie campaign, while shooting 50.3% from the field and 34.3% on three-pointers for his career.
What will it take for James to become the all-time leader? Short answer: He needs to average 21.6 points in 70 games per season from 2018-19 through 2022-23 when he’s 38 years old.
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