Cavaliers superstar LeBron James joined NBA legends Kareem Abdul-Jabaar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain, and Dirk Nowitzki as a member of the 30,000-point club. At 33, the four-time MVP is the youngest player to reach the milestone and is now just over 8,000 points away from passing Abdul-Jabaar as the league’s all-time leading scorer.
Since being drafted No. 1 overall from St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in 2003, LeBron has taken the league by storm and etched his name into the record books for all eternity. This certainly isn’t the first time he has reached a historic point milestone.
Here’s a look back at some of those notable moments.
First career points (Oct. 29, 2003)
In the first game of his NBA career, James made a 16-foot jumper off an assist from Ricky Davis for his first career points. The 18-year-old phenom finished with 25 points, 6 rebounds, and 9 assists on 60 percent shooting in a 106-92 Cavs loss to the Sacramento Kings.
5,000 (Jan. 21, 2006)
LeBron reached 5,000 in grand style, scoring 51 points in a 108-90 Cavs win over the Utah Jazz. He would also make his first career trip to the playoffs later that same year.
10,000 (Feb. 27, 2008)
At just 23 years old, James became the youngest player ever to reach 10,000 career points with a dunk over Boston’s Kevin Garnett. However, the Cavs would lose to the Celtics 92-87, foreshadowing that year’s Eastern Conference Semifinals.
15,000 (Mar. 19, 2010)
James reached 15,000 on the former home court of his hero (Michael Jordan) as the Cavs beat the Bulls 92-85. Unfortunately, it would be his last milestone in Cleveland for some time, as four months later LeBron decided to take his talents to South Beach.
20,000 – Jan. 16, 2013
Now wearing the black and red of the Miami Heat, LeBron became the youngest player to reach 20,000 in a 92-75 win against (ironically) the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena. It was part of what was a banner year for James, as he took home both his fourth league MVP and second straight NBA title.
25,000 (Nov. 3, 2015)
Finally, back in wine and gold, LeBron became just the 20th player in NBA history to reach 25,000 points during a 107-100 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. It was far from his biggest achievement of the season, however, as seven months later, the Cavaliers would win the NBA Championship.
30,000 (Jan. 23, 2018)
LeBron hits a pull-up jumper in the dying minutes of the 1st quarter against the Spurs and becomes the youngest ever to reach the 30,000th point.
