The Los Angeles Lakers have some ground to make up during the second half of the season if they want to finish better than 9th place in the Western Conference, entering the All-Star break with a 30-26 record. Star player LeBron James will be heading the effort, but he’ll also be chasing a personal NBA milestone of his own during the first few games coming out of the break.
James Enters NBA All-Star Break On Brink Of Milestone
LeBron James is CURRENTLY 157 points away from becoming the first player in NBA history to reach the 40,000-point benchmark.
At his current scoring average of 24.8 PPG, he’s set to reach and surpass 40K in 7 games.
We’re on the verge of more history. 👑 pic.twitter.com/GqQfCDDT9m
— Witness King James (@WITNESSKJ) February 11, 2024
Last season, James made his official stamp on the record books. In early February 2023, he scored his 38,388th career point, passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for first place on the NBA all-time scoring list. Since then, he has continued his high level of play into his 21st season, and is now on the verge of achieving a milestone that no player in history has ever reached.
Entering this year’s All-Star break, James is 132 points away from hitting 40,000 for his career.
When will he get to the milestone mark? There were hopes that James would pull to within 100 points of 40k by the break, but he was held out of the Lakers’ big win over the Jazz on Wednesday night, keeping him 132 away.
Which Game Will See Him Hit 40k?
“Staying in L.A. is [LeBron’s] best chance at winning a title… This offseason, there’s gonna be a move… Imagine if he gets another superstar caliber player in this locker room.”
Kendrick Perkins on LeBron James’ impending free agency 👀
(via @ESPNNBA)pic.twitter.com/sLR04gguXy
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) February 15, 2024
There are actually odds available at BetOnline for which game James will set the mark in. The favorite at the moment is the March 2nd game against the Nuggets, which would be the 6th game back after the break. That plays into the averages, considering that James scores about 25 points a night.
But if he is consciously chasing the milestone, or if the Lakers need him to score 40+ in one of their upcoming games for whatever reason, then we could see James make NBA history before the end of February.
As far as the level of opponents is concerned for the Lakers and their playoff push, they will have some tough tests coming out of the break. Three of their first four games will be played on the road, featuring meetings against the Warriors, Suns, and Clippers. Their one home game in the stretch will be against Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs.
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