With 36 points, 20 rebounds and 12 assists, James was one step closer to 40,000 points after the quasi-final defeat of the Warriors
Just yesterday, the Lakers narrowly beat the Warriors 145-144 on the road, and James scored 36 points, 20 rebounds and 12 assists on 14-of-25 shooting. James also set a new record in the history of the Lakers in this game, and was the first player in 48 years for the Lakers to score at least 30 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists in a single game, the last time someone in the history of the Lakers got such data was in 1976, when Abdul-Jabbar got at least 30 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists, this data has been in the dust of the Lakers for nearly 50 years, but I didn't expect the 39-year-old James to break it again.
As a veteran of 21 seasons in the NBA, at the age of 39, he can still play the full game (47.7 minutes, double overtime) and play as the team's starting team. So far this season, James ranks 26th in the league in 34.6 minutes per game, ranks 17th in the league in 25 points per game, ranks 32nd in the league in 7.5 rebounds per game, ranks 8th in the league in 7.6 assists per game, ranks 11th in the league in 1.3 assists per game, and ranks among the top in the league in many major statistics. Of course, Curry, the opponent of this game, is also old and strong, scoring 46 points, 3 rebounds and 7 assists at the age of 35, and he is not inferior to James who got a triple-double.
After this game, James' career regular season total points came to 39,704 points, and after surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the all-time scoring leader last season, every game, every goal or score he scored is a record. This season, the Lakers' lineup configuration is difficult to hit the championship, so James and the Lakers' next goal is to complete the honor of scoring a total of 40,000 points in the regular season, so far there are only 7 people with a total score of more than 30,000 points in NBA history, and only James is an active player, so James is the closest to 40,000 points among all players in NBA history, with a gap of only 396 points, which seems to be within reach.
The Lakers are currently ninth in the West with 24 wins and 23 losses, and there are 35 games left this season (regular season), and in theory, James can break the 40,000-point mark if he averages 11.4 points per game if he is full-time. James averaged 25 points per game this season, which means that under normal circumstances, James only needs to have about 16 more games to get 40,000+ points, according to the schedule, plus the future may have to be rested, James may complete this feat in late March, when there is a high probability that he will choose a game at the Lakers' home court, so that the entire Staples Arena and tens of thousands of fans will witness and cheer for this moment.
The Lakers are the number one team in NBA history, there is no lack of attention, and there is no shortage of various stars (all-time superstars), James is not the strongest in team history, but he has also achieved enough and great honors in the Lakers. For example, he brought the team the 2020 championship trophy, completed the feat of 40,000 points during his time with the Lakers, etc., which is enough for him to sit with the Lakers' all-time bigwigs, and even raise his jersey above the arena for young players to look up to.