In early March 2024, Lebron James hit a milestone of 40,000 points in his NBA career. Even with that world record achievement, James has not slowed down, accumulating over 1,000 points since March.
That was a turning point for James and his case on being the GOAT instead of six-time NBA Championship winner Michael Jordan.
Into the Numbers
Michael Jordan played 15 seasons from 1984 to 2003, reaching 32,292 points in his NBA career. Jordan averaged out 30 points per game in a regular season. He has had 6,672 rebounds and made 5,633 assists in his whole NBA career.
Credit: Getty Images
Lebron James however has played 22 seasons in the NBA starting in 2003. James has won four NBA Championships, two with the Miami Heat and one with both the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Los Angeles Lakers.
James averages 27 points per game but has better rebound and assist stats than Jordan. With James at 11,448 rebounds and 11,448 assists in his career so far.
What does that mean for Jordan and James?
In 2019 James passed Jordan’s career point total in a game against the Denver Nuggets and credited his basketball work ethic to stars like M.J.
“M.J. was an inspiration,” James said. “M.J. was the lightning in a bottle for me, because I wanted to be like him.”
At that point, James was at 100 more games played than Jordan but at 1,200 fewer shots. Now in 2025, James has played over 400 more games and made 8,000 more shots than Jordan.
With James playing on into his 40s he has been able to achieve great accomplishments and surpass other basketball stars’ point records. For example in 2023 he passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar who stands at 38,397 total points.
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