LEBRON IS THE FIRST PLAYER TO REACH 40.000 POINTS!
Remember when LeBron became the all-time leader in points? It was a moment. All eyes were on The King (or at least their smartphones were - not you Phill Knight) as he made history with a classic LBJ jumper from the top of the key. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the previous record-holder paid homage, with his seemingly unbeatable milestone of 38,387 being pushed further back into the realms of history. Since that day, which was over a year ago, now, LeBron James hasn't slowed down.
Now that he's broken through the 40,000 milestone, we need to take a moment to assess how he's accomplished such an achievement, and what this means for his legacy.
We firstly need to acknowledge the consistency that LeBron has operated at. Not only has he never played less than 55 games in the regular season, but he has continued to put up clockwork numbers, barely averaging less than 25 points per game throughout his entire career. In NBA 2K terms, his rating has stayed at around 95 for almost his entire journey so far!
Next, we need to acknowledge the length of his career. Currently in his 20th season, and (as mentioned) having minimal absence due to injury, combined with making the playoffs for most of those seasons, has put him in a position to surpass the likes of Kobe and Mike. Jordan is perhaps the most notable, as he missed a couple of seasons due to injury (very early on) and to play baseball. He also came back to play for the Wizards, but real Jordan fans know that those seasons didn't count (!)
NUMBERS DON'T LIE
These facts don't alter the truth, though, and the truth is that it takes a ridiculous level of hard work, focus and (simply put) greatness to achieve this type of career. It's been said that numbers don't lie, and if we're looking at LeBron James' legacy from purely a numbers point-of-view then he's the greatest there has ever been.
Numbers definitely don't tell the whole story, and there will ALWAYS be GOAT cases to be made for MJ, Kobe, Kareem and (when all is said and done) Steph Curry - not only for their numbers but for the lasting impact that they've individually made on the game.
As LeBron continues on this course, though, denying that he's the best to ever play the game is becoming more and more difficult. Let's continue to enjoy the fact that we're witnessing history.
