One of LeBron James’ most incredible statistical achievements reached a new, ridiculous level after Sunday’s Lakers game against the Wolves.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73198589/2066805964.0.jpg)
LeBron James has a number of records that are looking increasingly unlikely to be broken. The 40,000-point mark he recently passed certainly feels like one of those achievements, especially considering the list of people who have cleared 35k points is only three players long.
But easily his most unbreakable record is his double-digit points streak. Something that has gained more attention in recent seasons, LeBron’s points streak is at a level that often makes it hard to contextualize just how long it is.
Fortunately, there is a very good way of framing it for Lakers fans specifically to understand how long the streak is. After scoring 29 points in Sunday’s win over the Wolves, LeBron’s streak is at 1,208 games…one game longer than a very notable former Lakers’ career.
With his 29-point performance against the Minnesota Timberwolves, LeBron James’ 10-point streak has extended to 1,208 gamesThis is longer than Shaquille O’Neal’s entire career (1,207 games) pic.twitter.com/nYzlVlLJUE
— Ishaan Bhattacharya (@IshaanBhatta) March 11, 2024
For a bit of clarity, that is Shaq’s total number of regular season games, but that doesn’t make it any less remarkable.
At this point, it’s hard to even rationalize how far ahead of everyone else he is with this streak. Kevin Durant is the next-closest active player and he’s at 170 games. LeBron’s streak would require someone to score double digits for OVER FOURTEEN SEASONS IN A ROW.
If we’re going to try to contextualize it versus entire careers of players, which is a hilarious but also convenient way to do it, then he’s closing in on Pau Gasol, who played 1,226 regular season games. If he continues this into next season, we’re looking at players like Dwight Howard (1,242), Carmelo Anthony (1,260) and Derek Fisher (1,287) as players he could potentially catch.
More absurdly, if this continues into next season, then we’re looking at his streak of double-digit games being long enough to be in the top 30 all-time in games played in NBA/ABA history. That is a sentence that doesn’t even feel real. Right now, AC Green is 30th all-time in games played at 1,278. It’s conceivable LeBron could pass that next season.
Of all of LeBron’s ridiculous statistical achievements, though, this one feels like it should be at the top of the list. When you have to contextualize the length of an accomplishment vs. entire careers of legends, that should tell you how incredible this is.