With just nine points Saturday night LeBron James will become the first NBA player to score more than 40,000 points in his career. How did he do it? Three words:
Consistency: James has averaged 27 points per game for his career. He’s never averaged less than 25 points per season since his rookie year.
Longevity: In his 21st season as a 39-year-old, he’s played in the NBA longer than he hasn’t. The average NBA career is about five years. Even players with longer careers generally retire by their mid-30s.
Durability: James has played an average of 71 games per season for two decades.
We’ve compiled several of the data points that show James’ consistency, longevity and durability. And, we’ve charted his prolific scoring against some of the NBA’s greats and some of the league’s rising stars.
How many points LeBron James has compared to other NBA greats
Three of the NBA’s top scorers scored at higher rates earlier in their careers, but James has maintained his pace longer in his career. It did help that his career started sooner than most: He entered the NBA at age 19 out of St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio.
NBA greats score with longevity and consistency
James, who turned 39 in in December, has averaged 25 points per game this season. Only two other players Karl Malone and Michael Jordan averaged more than 20 points per game when they were 39. Not unsurprisingly, four of the NBA’s top five scorers played until age 39 or older.
While James has averaged 71 regular-games per season, that number has been declining since joining the Lakers. Between the 2018-19 and 2022-23 seasons, he’s averaged just over 55 games while he’s battled foot and ankle injuries.
What are the chances that LeBron James’ record will be broken?
Several of the top current players in the NBA have scored at a similar pace to James. Here’s how their scoring trajectories – all through the 2022-23 season – compare to James’ 20 complete seasons. Below, a chart compares his first 10 seasons to some of the NBA’s rising stars.
How many points can LeBron James score before he retires?
But James isn’t finished yet. If he stays healthy and plays just one more season at a similar scoring rate he could approach 42,000 points by the end of the 2024-25 season. Here’s calculator we set up for the 2022-23 season when he broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s career record.
LeBron James also is one of the greatest in assists
James has always been more than just a scorer. He’s solidly now No. 4 on the all-time assists list after passing Mark Jackson and Steve Nash in January 2023. For now, No. 3 looks out of James’ reach with 38-year-old Chris Paul still playing for the Warriors and more than 900 assists ahead of him.
LeBron James’ stats and accomplishments compared to Michael Jordan
When you’ve been around as long and accomplished as much as James has, your accomplishments become statistics in themselves. Here’s how his awards and titles stack up to Jordan. You can find a more complete discussion about whether James or Jordan is the greatest of all time, aka the GOAT, here.
