LeBron James ‘ legacy is unquestionable, and the Los Angeles Lakers superstar has just set an unprecedented record.
On February 7, LeBron James scored 38 points in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 133-130 final loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, thereby becoming the greatest pitcher in NBA history with 38,390 points. This achievement surpasses legendary Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record of 37,387 points over the past 40 years and currently only seven other professional basketball players still play with 10,000 points or more.
For LeBron James, this adds to his collection of achievements with 19 NBA All-Star appearances, 18 All-NBA Teams, four Season Player of the Year awards and four NBA Championships.
“I feel extremely honored to stand in front of a great legend like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Nothing could be better than today. Thank you so much everyone,” LeBron James said chokingly during the pause of the third round to celebrate this historic milestone.
Not only dominating in basketball, LeBron James also has success off the football field. At the age of 38, James is the NBA’s highest-paid basketball player with pre-tax income and agent expenses of $124.5 million in the 2022-2023 season. Off the field, he earns $80 million from contracts with Nike, AT&T and Beats By Dre, among other brands. To date, LeBron James has a total pre-tax income of $ 1.3 billion during his career.
On February 7, LeBron James officially became the greatest pitcher in NBA history with a record of 38,388 points. Photo: Getty Images.
LeBron James is also a successful businessman ( Forbes does not include income statistics). LeBron James has invested in many brands, including smart fitness company Tonal, which gives him equity. In 2015, James gave up a four-year, $15 million contract with McDonald’s to invest in the Blaze Pizza chain.
He co-founded sports nutrition company Ladder and recently became an investor in Major League Pickleball, bike maker Canyon Bicycles (Germany) and organic dairy brand Neutral Foods. In 2020, James co-founded film production and entertainment company SpringHill Co. with a valuation of 725 million USD in 2021. This is the unit that participated in producing the movie Space Jam: A New Legacy (Space Jam: New Era) and the documentary What’s My Name: Muhammad Ali broadcast on HBO. LeBron James is still the largest shareholder of SpringHill Co..
Another milestone of LeBron James is the first NBA player to become a billionaire while still competing. Forbes estimates that James owns a net worth of $ 1 billion from his shares in SpringHill, the Boston Red Sox baseball team, the sports group Fenway Sports Group – owner of the Liverpool football club, Blaze Pizza, private real estate and other cash income.
Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan are among the few sports athletes to become billionaires, but Jordan only achieved this title after being retired for 10 years. In an interview with GQ in 2014, eight years before becoming a billionaire, LeBron James thought about this.
“It will be the biggest milestone of my life if this comes to fruition. I will be extremely excited to become a billionaire athlete,” James shared at the time.
But LeBron James does not want to stop both on and off the field, when he once shared that he wants to own an NBA basketball team like the legendary Michael Jordan, who bought the Charlotte Hornets (formerly the Bobcats) in 2010. During a pre-season tour in Las Vegas in October 2022, James expressed interest in having a basketball team here.
Now, LeBron James is waiting for his eldest son, Bronny, to be old enough to attend the NBA. LeBron James said he will play with his son in the NBA before closing his career, with Bronny possibly entering the NBA Draft in 2024. In August 2022, James extended his contract with the Los Angeles Lakers for another two years, worth another two years, worth $97.1 million, with the option to play for the 2024-2025 season.
“I know I can play for a few more years,” LeBron James said after the match on February 7.
