LeBron James is nine points shy of 40,000 points after scoring 31 points in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 134-131 overtime victory over the Washington Wizards at Crypto.com Arena on Thursday.

James, who has the NBA’s longest double-digit scoring streak, will almost surely surpass the 40,000-point mark on Saturday when the Lakers visit the reigning champion Denver Nuggets.

Following his victory over the Wizards, James was asked if passing the 40,000-point milestone means anything to such a decorated player who is already the league’s all-time leading scorer, a four-time champion, a four-time Finals MVP, and a four-time MVP.

“I mean, I can’t sit here and say no because, of course,” he added. “Nobody has ever done it. And I think it’s quite fantastic that I’m in this position at this stage of my career. Is it at the top of my list of career accomplishments? No. But does it signify anything? Of course. Absolutely. Why shouldn’t it?

“To be able to do things in this league, with the best players to ever play in this league, the NBA, has always been a dream of mine, and to achieve feats and milestones during my career means a lot to me. Absolutely. Obviously, there is a hierarchy in which some are superior to others, but totally. I would be dishonest if I said it meant nothing. Because it certainly does.

On February 7, 2023, James broke the NBA’s all-time scoring record, passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387 career points), who was in attendance. Since the record, James hasn’t considered increasing the margin or calculating how many points he could eventually score.

“No,” James replied. “No. I never considered getting the score record. It just happened organically. I played the game correctly by going out and letting the game come to me, and the scoring record came spontaneously for me. When I first joined the league, I had no intention of becoming the all-time leading scorer. But I am still playing. And I can still score the ball, so it will stay up until I finish playing.”

James has scored a lot of points in the last two games — 34 against the Clippers and 31 against the Wizards — but his late defense also played a big factor in the second straight win.

Midway through the extra stanza, Wizards guard Jordan Poole raced out in transition following a James turnover and appeared to have an uncontested layup that would have put the Wizards up five points on the Lakers.

But James, stalking Poole from behind, timed his shot perfectly and smacked it against the backboard with his left hand.

“Well, I was taught at a young age that if you turn the ball over, you have to sprint back.” And AD and I had a miscommunication on that read, so I fired the pocket pass before he opened up to view the ball. And when I saw Tyus Jones throw it, I tried to recover and make a play. Obviously, it was a key play in the game, and I was glad I could track it down.”

Kyle Kuzma got the offensive rebound but missed a pull-up 3-pointer. On the next possession, James isolated against Kyle Kuzma and nailed a step-back 3-pointer to tie the game. The five-point swing shifted the tide and sealed the game in LA’s favor. The Wizards would not score again, as the Lakers pulled away in the last 2:30.