LeBron James surpassed the 40,000-point mark in the NBA this Saturday after scoring the nine points he needed to reach this milestone in his team's game, the Los Angeles Lakers, against the Denver Nuggets.

LeBron, 39, in his 21st NBA season, was already the league's all-time leading scorer ahead of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387), Karl Malone (36,928), Kobe Bryant (33,643), and Michael Jordan (32,292).

The Lakers leader scored five points in the first period, hitting two of three from the field, and reached 40,000 in the second with a great drive culminated by a left-handed layup with 10:25 to play.

LeBron is also second in minutes played, fourth in assists, and eighth in steals. 'King' James won four NBA titles, two with the Miami Heat, one with the Cleveland Cavaliers, and one with the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Los Angeles Lakers star said on Saturday that breaking the 40,000-point barrier in his NBA career gives him mixed feelings, as he feels pride for this achievement, but at the same time bitterness for achieving it in his team's loss to the Denver Nuggets.

"I never think about personal records when I'm on the court fighting, but I have a lot of respect for the Lakers family for showing me that love during the timeout (after the record)," LeBron said in the post-game press conference.

"Being the first to do this is great because you know the league's history, the greats who played here, and you also see the great players who were here tonight," he added.

However, LeBron emphasized that for him, the main thing "is to win" and lamented the 114-124 loss suffered against the Nuggets.

"I hate that this happened in a defeat. Especially against a team that plays great basketball, we couldn't win. It's bittersweet. But I enjoyed every moment on the court," LeBron concluded.