LeBron James says reaching 40K was ‘bittersweet’ due to loss against Nuggets

It was another milestone for LeBron James in a career filed with them, but achieving it in defeat put a damper on the festivities.

Needing just nine points to open up and join the 40,000 points club on Saturday, LeBron James got it done in the second quarter versus the Denver Nuggets.

The Los Angeles Lakers legend scored 40k the way he’s scored countless times, getting the switch he wanted and driving to the basket with force. On this particular play, he got Michael Porter Jr. to defend him one-on-one and once he started going downhill, MPJ couldn’t do much about it. LeBron spun to the basket and finished with a nice layup, hitting 40,000 career points exactly.

The L.A. crowd showered him with thunderous applause as the team got back on defense and the Lakers shared a video tribute to the King’s accomplishment during the following break in action.

#Lakers tribute video and the crowd giving LeBron a standing ovation for 40K: pic.twitter.com/FYmE8MKnLJ

— Daniel Starkand (@DStarkand) March 3, 2024

The Lakers unfortunately didn’t get the win, losing for the eighth time in a row against the Nuggets. So many losses in a similar fashion have fans wondering why Los Angeles can’t beat Denver. The defeat put a damper on the milestone night for LeBron and the Lakers.

“I’m never thinking about a milestone when I’m out there battling, but when it happens, obviously, we acknowledge it,” James said after the game. “Much respect and much loyalty to the Laker fan base for showing me that love during the timeout; being the first player to do something’s pretty cool in this league cause you just know the history, you know the greats that’s come through the league. And then you see some of the greats on the floor tonight. It was just great to compete vs. that.”

“But for me, the main thing is always the main thing and that’s to win. I hated that it had to happen in a defeat, especially versus a team that, you know, played extremely well. We played some good basketball tonight, but wasn’t able to close it out. So, bittersweet, you know, but I enjoyed every moment tonight though on the floor.”

This isn’t the first time the Lakers vs. Nuggets played this season while a big moment surrounded their matchup. The first game between L.A. and Denver was on Denver’s ring night and the next matchup was on Kobe Bryant’s statue unveiling. Now, we have the 40k game. All eventful games and all Denver wins.

Luckily for the Lakers, they won’t play the Nuggets again for the rest of the season, barring a playoff matchup.

Despite the sour feeling of a celebratory moment being ruined with a defeat, James will hopefully embrace his greatness and the NBA world will acknowledge just how special what we are witnessing is.

40,000 points is hard to wrap one’s head around. The only active player even close to it right now is Kevin Durant and he’s at 28,372 points, which is 11,645 points behind Bron. Keep in mind that James is also playing and adding to this number.

LeBron has a player option for next season and may be looking to opt out and sign a longer-term deal. The end is nearing, but his numbers show no signs of him slowing down.

Even in this ‘bittersweet’ game, Bron ended the night with 26 points, a team-high and he did it on 60% shooting from the field. It’s just unprecedented work for a 39-year-old.

When looking at Bron’s career, one can use many statistics and phrases to describe his ridiculousness. I’ll leave you with this: he’s accomplishing things no one predicted he could have done and has spent the majority of his human life as a professional basketball player.

No player had more pressure or hype put upon them at the age of 18 and despite that hype and pressure, he somehow lived up to it and has won a title in three different jerseys spanning 21 years.

And he’s still not done.

Related Posts