LeBron James became the 13th player to score over 10,000 points for the Lakers

LeBron James further strengthened its status as Los Angeles Lakers legend by becoming the 13th player to score over 10,000 points for the franchise, James accomplished this feat during the game against the Kings of Sacramento Thursday and is the fourth fastest to get there.

Lakers 10,000 Point Club:

1. Kobe Bryant – 33,643 points

2. Jerry West – 25,192 points

3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – 24,176 points

4.Elgin Baylor – 23,149 points

5.Magic Johnson – 17,707 points

6. James Worthy – 16,320 points

7. Shaquille O’Neal – 13,895 points

8. Gail Goodrich – 13,044 points

9. Byron Scott – 12,780 points

10. Jamaal Wilkes – 10,601 points

11. Georges Mikan – 10,156 points

12. Vern Mikkelsen – 10,063 points

13. LeBron James – 10,034 points

It’s pretty incredible that James is this high on the Lakers’ scoring list despite only being in his seventh season with the franchise and will break into the top 10 during this campaign itself . The absolute most the 20-time All-Star can reach before the end of his career is probably seventh, but eighth/ninth is a bit more realistic assuming next season will be his last.

From a scoring perspective, we have seen a slight decline from James this season. The 39-year-old is averaging 23.0 points, 7.9 rebounds, 8.9 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.6 blocks per game for the Lakers in 2024-25.

James only averaged fewer points per game over the course of a campaign during his rookie season and his scoring numbers will likely continue to drop a bit in the future and that will, in all likelihood, prevent him , to surpass. Shaquille O’Neal.

Austin Reaves thinks LeBron James deserves a statue outside Lakers arena

The Lakers have honored a total of seven franchise icons with statues outside their arena over the years and there has been much debate over whether James should eventually get one as well. GOOD, Austin Reaves certainly thinks LeBron deserves stature.

“Yeah, why not,” Reaves said. “You know, he came to Los Angeles at a time when they weren’t having a lot of success and what was it, two, three years, he put a banner up in the rafters? So why not?

“I mean, in my opinion, he’s the greatest player to ever play the game,” Reaves said. “You can argue that for sure, I mean, because there have been some really good players, but I’ve always said that you could name the best person in everything, scoring, rebounding, and you could argue that Bron can compete at the top in all these categories So yes, why not?

James won a title for the Lakers in 2020 and became the NBA’s all-time leading scorer while playing for the franchise. That might be enough to get a statue but he can guarantee himself one if he wins another title. However, this does not seem very likely at the moment.

The Lakers are 16-12 in the 2024-25 season and don’t appear to be serious title contenders. The only way this changes is if they make some moves and it will be interesting to see who they can bring in before the trade deadline. For now, the Lakers will focus on the next game against the Detroit Pistons at Crypto.com Arena on Monday at 10:30 p.m. ET.