The Los Angeles Lakers superstar already holds the NBA records for points scored and minutes played, surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s standards in each of the last two seasons, respectively. James is now behind Robert Parish’s record in games played for 49 appearances. (He played 70 games last season).
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That’s right: In February, James might have played more in the NBA than anyone. Imagine that. Even with all that hype coming into the league as “The Chosen One” in 2003, if you had said he would retire as the NBA’s all-time leader in games, minutes and points, you would have thought he lived up to all expectations.
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I’ll leave it to you to consider whether we set our standards too high for our heroes.
Still, what’s even more remarkable about the things James can accomplish this season: There’s a real chance he can finish this season with more rebounds than Dennis Rodman, more assists than Jason Kidd, more steals than Gary Payton, more triples than Reggie Miller, and more triple-doubles than Magic Johnson. And again: he already has more points than anyone else. This is something amazing.
NBA career rebound leaderboard
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22. Charles Oakley (12,205)
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23. Dennis Rodman (11,954)
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24. Kevin Willis (11, 901)
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25. LeBron James (11,731)
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26. Patrick Ewing (11,607)
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(James grabbed 546 rebounds last season. He trails Rodman by 223.)
NBA Career Assist Leaderboard
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1. John Stockton (15,806)
(James dished out 575 assists last season. He trails Kidd by 507.)
NBA race steals rankings
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4. Michael Jordan (2,514)
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7. Maurice Cheeks (2310)
(James had 70 steals last season. He trails Payton by 100.)
NBA career three-point leaderboard
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4. Damian Lillard (2,804)
(James made 149 3-pointers last season. He’s one behind Miller.)
NBA triple-double rankings
(James recorded 10 triple-doubles last season. He’s 16 behind Johnson.)
Kevin Durant’s search for Michael Jordan
Kevin Durant is, without a doubt, one of the greatest scoring weapons in NBA history. He has averaged 27.2 points per game on shooting splits of 50/39/88 over a 17-year career, and still approaches, if not surpasses, those numbers annually, despite a debilitating Achilles injury at age 30.
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Believe it or not, that puts him on pace to surpass Michael Jordan on the all-time scoring list. Yeah, that Michael Jordan, considered the greatest scorer of all time, although others have scored more points.
NBA Career Points Leaderboard
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5. Michael Jordan (32,292)
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6. Dirk Nowitzki (31,560)
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7. Wilt Chamberlain (31,419)
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9. Shaquille O’Neal (28,596)
(Durant scored 1,647 points last season. He trails Jordan by 1,721.)
For the record: Jordan scored his 32,292 points in 1,072 games. Durant has already played 1,123 games.
James Harden: Top 10 in scoring and assists?
Meanwhile, James Harden could also move into the top 10 in both the all-time scoring and assist lists.
NBA Career Points Leaderboard
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9. Shaquille O’Neal (28,596)
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10. Carmelo Antonio (28,289)
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11. James Harden (27,687)
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12. Moisés Malone (27, 409)
(Harden scored 1,802 points last season. He trails O’Neal by 909.)
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NBA Career Assist Leaderboard
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14. Rod Strickland (7,987)
(Harden dished out 687 assists last season. He trails Thomas by 745.)
Of course, Harden (4,260 turnovers) is also behind Karl Malone (4,524) for third on a more problematic list.
Russell Westbrook’s rare company
If he could find a team, Russell Westbrook could join James, Durant and Harden in the top 15 of the all-time scoring list. He is ranked 20th, but another year like last season could push him up to 14th.
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14. Hakeem Olajuwon (26,946)
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15. Oscar Robertson (26,710)
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16. Dominique Wilkins (26,668)
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19. John Havlicek (26,395)
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20. Russell Westbrook (26,205)
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21. Kevin Garnett (26,071)
(Westbrook scored 994 points last season. He trails Olajuwon by 741.)
Westbrook also has 75 10,000 assists and 45 2,000 steals in his career.
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Other members of the 10,000 assists and 2,000 steals club: LeBron James, Chris Paul, John Stockton and Jason Kidd. James is the only one among them who has also scored 25,000 career points.
Westbrook could join James in another exclusive club, as he is 171 turnovers away from becoming the second player to commit 5,000 in his career. Westbrook committed 242 turnovers for the Nuggets.
Other milestones…
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Stephen Curry (25,386 career points) could rise to 13th (27,313) on the all-time list.
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Nikola Jokic He needs 18 triple-doubles to surpass Oscar Robertson for second place on the all-time list.
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Klay Thompson he needs 277 3-pointers to pass Ray Allen for third place on the all-time list.
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paul george He needs 102 3-pointers to pass Kyle Korver for eighth place on the all-time list.
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during He needs 100 3-pointers to pass Vince Carter for 10th on the all-time list.
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cris pablo He needs 57 games played to pass Jason Terry for 10th on the all-time list.
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Rudy Gobert He needs 300 rebounds to become the 45th player to reach 10,000 in his career.
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Anthony Davis he needs 185 blocks to become the 21st player to reach 2,000 in his career.
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Davis and Jorge They need 1,022 points and 1,303 points, respectively, to reach 20,000 in their careers.