FILE – Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) reacts during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Indiana Pacers, Sunday, March 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent, File)
LeBron James is entering his record-tying 22nd NBA season, a mark that only newly enshrined Basketball Hall of Famer Vince Carter has reached.
Obviously, that’s not the only number that jumps out when talking about James’ career.
Already the NBA’s career scoring leader and now a four-time Olympic medalist, James’ body of work in the league is evident by looking at just about any stat list that can be drummed up. And this year, the Los Angeles Lakers star — who is set to play alongside son Bronny this season — is set to keep climbing the charts.
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A look inside James’ statistics and his still-evolving place in NBA history:
LeBron has never been average
This is one of the more fascinating stats of James’ career. To this point — and this has been the case for the majority of his time in the NBA — James averages 27 points, seven rebounds and seven assists per game.
But he’s never had an average night.
None of James’ 1,492 regular-season games (or any of his 287 playoff games) has ended with him having exactly 27 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. He’s been close, many times — 77 games ended with him scoring exactly 27 points, 11 games had him with 27 points and seven rebounds, six games had him with 27 points and seven assists, and 11 games saw him one rebound and one assist away from finishing at 27-7-7.
For the record, 27-7-7 nights are rare. There’s been only 51 in NBA history, not counting four others in the playoffs.
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Jerry West had two in the regular season and one more in postseason play. Grant Hill, Russell Westbrook and Jo Jo White all had 27-7-7 games twice. Kevin Durant has one in the regular season and one more in the playoffs.
Nobody else has ever had more than one. Paul George had the only such game last season.
Lakers star chasing Kareem, again
James is on the verge of catching Kareem Abdul-Jabbar yet again in a few ways.
James — the NBA all-time scoring king after passing Abdul-Jabbar atop that list in February 2023 — enters this season No. 6 on the list of regular season games played with 1,492.
He can’t take over the top spot this season; Robert Parish has played 1,611 games. But James, if he plays in 68 games, could catch Abdul-Jabbar (1,560) for No. 2 on the list. In that scenario, he’ll also have passed Vince Carter (1,541) for No. 3, Dirk Nowitzki (1,522) for No. 4 and John Stockton (1,504) for No. 5.
Including playoffs, though, James is on pace to become the leader possibly as early as late November. He has appeared in 1,779 total games, 16 behind Parish (1,795) and 18 behind Abdul-Jabbar (1,797). That doesn’t include James’ appearance in the inaugural NBA Cup championship game, which isn’t factored into official stats because it doesn’t count in the standings.
If James doesn’t miss games, he would appear in his record-setting 1,798th game, officially and including playoffs, on Nov. 29 at home against Oklahoma City.
And in regular-season minutes, James is No. 2 with 56,597. That’s 849 away from Abdul-Jabbar’s record there of 57,446. At his current average of around 35 minutes per game, James could catch Abdul-Jabbar sometime around the Lakers’ Christmas Day game against Golden State.
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LeBron climbing other lists
A breakdown of where James sits on other lists and what he needs to do to keep climbing:
— Field goals: James is currently No. 2, exactly 1,000 behind Abdul-Jabbar (15,837 to 14,837) in regular-season play. Adding in playoffs, James is No. 2 has 17,765 — 428 away from Abdul-Jabbar’s mark.
— Free throws: James is No. 3 with 8,390 in regular-season play, 141 away from matching No. 2 Moses Malone (8,531). The record is likely out of reach unless James plays many more seasons; Karl Malone is No. 1 on the list with 9,787.
— Assists: James is No. 4 with 11,009 in regular-season play. San Antonio’s Chris Paul is No. 3 with 11,894; because Paul is still playing it seems unlikely that James will be moving up on that list this season.
— 3-pointers: James is No. 8 with 2,410, 40 back of No. 7 Kyle Korver.
— Steals: James is No. 8 with 2,275 in regular-season play, 32 back of No. 7 Scottie Pippen (2,307) and 35 back of No. 6 Maurice Cheeks (2,310).
Life at 40 (and beyond) for LeBron
James turns 40 on Dec. 30, which means he could play in 53 games this season after reaching that milestone birthday.
And once he gets there — the Lakers’ first game after the big birthday is the next night, New Year’s Eve at home against one of his former clubs, the Cleveland Cavaliers — James will start moving up the 40-and-older charts as well.
He’ll become the 30th player to appear in an NBA game after turning 40. Of the previous 29, only 13 scored more than 100 points after reaching that age and only four — Abdul-Jabbar (1,941), Parish (1,706), Carter (1,433) and John Stockton (1,088) — scored at least 1,000 points after reaching 40.
James has the most NBA points by a teenager (2,362, 603 more than Kobe Bryant), most by a player in his 20s (21,539, 53 more than Wilt Chamberlain) and is third for scoring in his 30s. He has 16,573 points since turning 30; Karl Malone had 19,387 and Abdul-Jabbar 17,808.