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2023–2024: NBA Cup MVP and 40K points

Entering the 2023–24 season, James was the oldest player in the league, following the retirements of Udonis Haslem and Andre Iguodala. In the season opener against the defending champion Nuggets, James put up 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists in a 119–107 loss. On November 1, James put up 35 points in a 130–125 overtime victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. His 35 points were his 81st 30-point game since turning 35, surpassing Karl Malone for the most 30-point games by any player since turning 35 in NBA history. On November 15, James logged 28 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists in a 125–110 loss to the Sacramento Kings, becoming the second-oldest player to have recorded a triple-double. He also moved up to the fifth and eighth places (passing Jason Kidd and Jason Terry, respectively) in the all-time triple-doubles and three-pointers lists, respectively. Four days later, James scored a season-high 37 points in a narrow 105–104 win over the Houston Rockets. He also tied Vince Carter for seventh on the All-Time 3-pointers list with 2,290, and moved past Clyde Drexler for eighth on the all-time steals list at 2,208.

On November 21, in a 131–99 blowout victory over the Utah Jazz, he became the first player in league history to reach 39,000 career points. James also broke a tie with Vince Carter, and moved to the 7th place in the league's all-time three-pointers made list. Six days later, in a 138–94 blowout loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, James surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record of 66,300 minutes to become the player with the most minutes played in NBA games during the regular season and playoffs. The Lakers' 44-point loss was also the worst loss of LeBron's career. On December 9, James and the Lakers won the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament with a 123–109 victory over the Pacers, with James receiving the Tournament MVP award and being selected to the All-Tournament team.

On January 25, 2024, James was named an All-Star starter for the 2024 NBA All-Star Game, marking his 20th NBA All-Star selection, surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most All-Star selections in NBA history. Two days later, James put up a triple-double with 36 points, a career-high 20 rebounds, and 12 assists, including a pair of game-winning free throws, in a narrow 145–144 double overtime victory over the Golden State Warriors, becoming the first player in Lakers franchise history since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1976 to put up at least 30 points, 20 rebounds, and 10 assists in a game. On February 28, James spearheaded a 21-point fourth-quarter comeback by the Lakers to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 116–112, marking the largest fourth-quarter comeback of James' career and the Lakers' biggest comeback since 2003. He outscored the Clippers by himself 19–16 in the final quarter, going 5-for-8 from three-point range and dishing out four assists. Three days later, James became the first player in NBA history to reach 40,000 career points. On March 16, he scored a season-high 40 points on 15-of-23 shooting with eight rebounds and nine assists in a 128–121 loss to the Warriors. On March 31, James put up 40 points on a career-high nine three-pointers made along with seven rebounds and five assists in a 116–104 victory over the Brooklyn Nets. He also surpassed Michael Jordan for the most 30-point games (across the regular season and playoffs) in NBA history with 672. On April 9 and 12, James put up 33 and 37 points respectively; and in the season finale on April 14 against the Pelicans, James scored 28 points, brought down 11 rebounds, and his 17 assists pushed his career total over the 11k mark.

James finished his 21st season in the NBA averaging 25.7 points, 8.3 assists and 7.3 rebounds a game. He also shot 54% from the field and a career-high 41.0% from 3-point range, making him the first player to average over 25 points and eight assists while shooting at least 50% overall and 40% from beyond the arc for an entire season. On the road against the Pelicans in the play-in game, James had 23 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists to win 110–106 and clinch his 17th career playoff appearance. After the Lakers fell into a 3–0 series deficit in the first round against the Denver Nuggets, James scored 14 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter in game 4 as the Lakers won 119–108 to stave off elimination. In the process, James recorded his 19th career 30-point game when facing elimination and improved to 15–12 in 27 career elimination games. The Lakers lost the series in five games, despite James's 30-point and 11-rebound outing in a 108–106 closeout loss in Game 5; this marked the second time James was eliminated in the first round.