Inside LeBron’s Numbers: Entering year 22, James’ statistical resume only continues to grow

LeBron James is entering his NBA-record 22nd season, a mark matched only by incoming Basketball Hall of Famer Vince Carter.

Obviously, that’s not the only number that jumps out when talking about James’ career.

Already the NBA career scoring leader i now a four-time Olympic medalistJames’ work in the league is evident by looking at almost any list of statistics that can be compiled. And this year, the Los Angeles Lakers star, who will play next to son Bronny this season, it is expected to continue climbing the charts.

A look at James’ stats and his still-evolving place in NBA history:

LeBron has never been average

This is one of the most fascinating stats of James’ career. To this point, and this has been the case for most of his time in the NBA, James is averaging 27 points, seven rebounds and seven assists per game.

But he’s never had a normal night.

None of James’ 1,492 regular season games (nor any of his 287 playoff games) has finished with 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 with a rebound and an assist from distance. to finish in 27-7-7.

For the record, 27-7-7 nights are rare. There have only been 51 in NBA history, not counting another four in the playoffs.

Jerry West he had two in the regular season and one more in the postseason. Grant Hill, Russell Westbrook and Jo Jo White each went 27-7-7. Kevin Durant has one in the regular season and one more in the playoffs.

No one else has ever had more than one. Paul George had the only such game last season.

The Lakers star is chasing Kareem again

James is about to catch Kareem Abdul-Jabbar once again in some ways.

James, the NBA’s all-time scoring king after passing Abdul-Jabbar atop that list in February 2023, enters this season at No. 6 on the regular-season games played list with 1,492.

He cannot 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 will 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.

With the playoffs, however, James is poised to become a leader possibly by the end of November. He has appeared in 1,779 total games, 16 behind Parish (1,795) and 18 behind Abdul-Jabbar (1,797). This does not include James’ appearance in the opening game of the NBA Cup, which is not counted in the official statistics because it does not count in the standings.

If James doesn’t miss the games, he would appear in his record 1,798 games, officially and playoffs included, on Nov. 29 at home against Oklahoma City.

And in regular season minutes, James is No. 2 with 56,597. That’s 849 shy of Abdul-Jabbar’s record of 57,446. With his current average of about 35 minutes per game, James could catch Abdul-Jabbar at some point during the Lakers’ Christmas game against Golden State.

LeBron climbing other lists

A breakdown of where James ranks 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. Entering the playoffs, James is No. 2 and has 17,765 — 428 shy of Abdul-Jabbar’s mark.

— Free throws: James is No. 3 with 8,390 in regular-season play, 141 behind 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; with Paul still playing, it seems unlikely that James will make the roster this season.

— Triple-A: James is No. 8 with 2,410, 40 behind No. 7 Kyle Korver.

— Steals: James is No. 8 with 2,275 in the regular season game, 32 behind No. 7 Scottie Pippen (2,307) and 35 behind 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 the milestone birthday.

And once he gets there (the Lakers’ first game after the big birthday is the following night, New Year’s Eve at home against one of his former clubs, the Cleveland Cavaliers), James will also begin to climb the charts more than 40 years. .

He will 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 turning 40.

James has the most NBA points by a teenager (2,362, 603 more than Kobe Bryant), the most by a player in his 20s (21,539, 53 more than Wilt Chamberlain) and is third in scoring in his 30s He has 16,573 points since he was 30; Karl Malone had 19,387 and Abdul-Jabbar had 17,808.