LeBron James reaches 51,000 NBA points in the Raptors game
LeBron James made more NBA history by becoming the first player to score 51,000 career points during Los Angeles Lakers‘ on Sunday against the Toronto Raptors. At 41, James continues to perform at a high level and contribute to a historic career. He had he has already passed the total of 50,000 points in 2025.
A turning point it includes both regular season and playoff points and speaks to James’ longevity and consistency over 23 NBA seasons. He became the league’s all-time regular season scoring leader in February 2023 and reached 50,000 combined points in March 2025 against the New Orleans Pelicans with a first-quarter three-pointer assisted by Luka Doncic.
Against Toronto, playing for the second night of back-to-back games, James was initially listed as questionable but was cleared before the game. Even with some uncertainty about his availability, he played more than 30 minutes against the Raptors.
James finished with 24 points on 9-of-17 shooting. He also added seven assists and four rebounds.
James now leads the NBA in both the regular season and postseason with over 42,000 points and in the playoffs with over 8,000 points. He is way ahead of legends like Karl Malone and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
The milestone against the Raptors further demonstrates his importance to the Lakers as they push for another deep playoff run in a crowded Western Conference. despite recent struggles.
When playoff points are included, Abdul-Jabbar has more than 44,000 career points, while Karl Malone is third with over 41,000.
The closest active players to James on the all-time scoring list are Kevin Durant at sixth, James Harden at 11th and Stephen Curry at 15th.
Including the latest win over Toronto, James is averaging 22.6 points while shooting 50 percent from the field in 23 games this season. Although it remains unclear whether he will play beyond the 2025-26 season, his level of play shows that he is still at a high level.
2026-01-19 13:08:00
