As James closes in on 40,000 career points, it's important to put this number into perspective.
If we even cut this number by 25 percent and shave off 10,000 points, only seven players in NBA history have even reached 30,000 career points, a list that includes Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Dirk Nowitzki, Wilt Chamberlain and Julius Erving.
If we cut this number down to 20,000, only 54 other players in league history have gotten to half of James' scoring total, including seven who are currently active (Kevin Durant, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Stephen Curry, DeMar DeRozan, Chris Paul and Damian Lillard).
Curry will soon turn 36, has led the NBA in scoring twice and is still just at 23,180 career points. If he kept up his current scoring average of 27.7 points and James retired with an even 40,000, the Golden State star would have to play another 607 games (roughly seven-and-a-half full seasons) to catch him.
We've also seen a number of NBA legends not even hit the 20,000-point mark, a list that includes Scottie Pippen, John Stockton, Isiah Thomas, Magic Johnson and others.
James getting to 40,000 points will be a mark that we will likely never see again.
