Summary
- LeBron James further cemented his legacy by scoring his 43,000th career regular-season point
- The 41-year-old achieved the feat with a layup in the third quarter of his 1600th career game
- Despite his continued dominance, James will be ineligible for an All-NBA selection due to the league’s 65-game threshold
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James has rewritten the history books once again. The superstar officially became the first player in the history of the NBA to reach 43,000 career regular-season points, achieving the milestone with a layup midway through the third quarter of a Sunday contest against the rival Boston Celtics.
James reached the 43,000-point mark in his 1600th regular-season appearance, further extending his definitive scoring lead over fellow basketball legends. He sits comfortably ahead of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s 38,387 points, followed on the all-time list by Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, and Michael Jordan. The 41-year-old athlete continues to produce at an elite level, entering Sunday’s game averaging 21.7 points, 7.2 assists, 5.7 boards, and 1.1 steals across 37 appearances this season..
While the scoring milestone highlights his unmatched longevity, the Score reports that James’s historic 21-year streak of All-NBA selections is officially set to conclude this year. As he will not meet the league’s 65-game minimum requirement, he will fall short of eligibility for the end-of-season honor. Still, he remains on the verge of another major record, needing just 12 more game appearances to surpass Robert Parish for the all-time NBA games played record.
👑 LeBron gets to 43K points with the left 👑 https://t.co/09d0AQ2O5u pic.twitter.com/7JpzBTGHjr
— NBA (@NBA) February 23, 2026
