LeBron James becomes first NBA player to score 40,000 points

Basketball star LeBron James became the first NBA player to reach 40,000 career regular-season points on Saturday.  James, 39, said he was proud to reach the milestone¹, but described the game as "bittersweet", as his Los Angeles Lakers lost 124-114 to the defending NBA champions the Denver Nuggets.

"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," said James, who scored 26 points on the night.

"But for me, the main thing, as always, is to win, and I hated that it had to happen in a defeat."  James has achieved the feat² in 1,475 regular-season games, reaching double-digit points in each of the last 1,205 of those.

Last February, James passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's previous record of 38,387 NBA career points, which had stood since 1989.  James is also a great passer of the basketball.  He is fourth in career assists³ with 10,847, with a high average of 7.35 per game.