After another defeat in the middle of a lost season, LeBron James was asked a question at the FTX Arena in Miami that invited him out of a losing moment to expand and clarify his vision.
What does James think about staying within impressive distances of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA’s all-time scoring record of 38,387 points?
“As I keep climbing the ranks, it’s natural, human, to look at it and see where you are and see if it’s possible,” he said. Los Angeles Lakers the star said in January. “We’ll see what happens. I’ve never been chasing a record in my life. I’ve never sat down and said, ‘Okay, let’s see if I can hit this record. no, let me see if I can hit that record. ‘ …
“It’s one of those things that you never thought could happen.”
Abdul-Jabbar has held the torch as the league’s top scorer since April 5, 1984 – nearly nine months before James, who will turn 38 in December, makes his world debut. gender.
In other words, although James says he never imagined he would accumulate more points than The Captain, he was probably born to do this.
While James’ march to the scoring crown will attract the biggest attention of his 20th season, there will be plenty of other ways he can enhance his place in the record books. NBA.
Here’s a look at all the statistical superlatives James is about to hit in 2022-23:
Big one
James enters the season with 37,062 career points, need 1,326 points to pass the mark of Abdul-Jabbar.
If he averages 27.1 points per game – his career average – and doesn’t miss any games, James will set the record in the Lakers’ 49th game on January 25. on the front yard San Antonio Spurs.
More time to rest or an injury or two that are inevitable considering how past seasons have passed James – plus his expected scoring average with Anthony Davis back to health – it is more likely that James would capture Abdul-Jabbar later in the campaign.
If he averages more than 24 points per game and misses 15% to 20% of the season, James will be close to hitting the high end somewhere in the Game’s 65 to 68 range.
That coincided with a house in early March when the Lakers hosted golden empire warriors (March 5), Memphis Grizzlies (March 7), Toronto Raptors (March 10) and New York Knicks (March 12).
The question is, can James reach the top in a win? James eclipsed four all-time scoring legends – Dirk Nowitzki, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Karl Malone – in the loss to the Lakers, taking a toll on individual achievements.
James could also overtake Wilt Chamberlain for the second-most 30 points in tournament history by topping 30 and seven times to bring his career total to 515. Jordan has the most with 562.
Longevity loom
As the #1 pick right out of high school in 2003, James’ career accomplishments often come with youngest ever do like that. As his time in the league nearly two decades, that changed. He is usually oldest to achieve these feats.
“I’m really trying to prepare my mind, body and soul for how I can stay young in a young man’s game,” said James, last season. “People who are always trying to chase you or people who say you’re too old for this age [level] still. So it’s always a daily reminder and sometimes you have to remind people that you can still do what you do at a high level. “
James can continue to escalate in two cumulative categories this season. He enters a third all-time campaign in minutes played with 52,139, needing another 2,714 to overtake Malone in second. He will have to be in the squad for about 75 games to do that. Abdul-Jabbar topped the list with 57,446 minutes.
Speaking of games played, he’s 14th on the all-time list with 1,366. If he plays in 59 competitions this season, he will advance to eighth, ahead of Clifford Robinson, Reggie Miller, Jason Kidd, Tim Duncan, Jason Terry and Kevin Willis.
Another Lakers legend in sight
James’s game is often compared to Magic Johnson’s for its powerful combination of court size and vision. And all of James’ precise points over the years make it possible for him to overtake Johnson on the all-time assist list.
James is seventh with 10,045, just 97 assists behind Johnson in sixth.
Already the only player in league history to finish in the top 10 for total points and assists, James will become the only player to finish in the top five in those categories with 291 assists. , surpassing Mark Jackson in 5th and Steve Nash in fourth.
3 seconds and release
James averaged 30.3 points last season – the second-highest scoring average of his career – thanks in large part to his contributions on both the pass and off the arc.
His 75.6% record from the free throw is his best clip since the 2011-12 season, and his 161 3-pointers are the most he’s ever hit in a single season.
He’s fourth on the all-time free-player list with 7,836 and needs another 543 to overtake Bryant in third, which will likely take a few more seasons if he already has 254 appearances. pitch for the period 2021-22.
James could overtake Paul Pierce for 10th place on the all-time top 3 list shortly after opening night on October 18, as he is only four games behind his longtime opponent on the court. .
If he hits 151 3s during the season, James will also overtake Jamal Crawford, Jason Terry and Vince Carter on the all-time list.
Tables and triplets
James quietly has one of the best rebounding seasons of his career in 2021-22, with his 8.2 table representing the fourth-best average in a season.
With 10,210 career rebounds, he ranks 38th on the all-time list. If he adds £500 this season, he will shoot up to 32nd place, ahead of Otis Thorpe, Bill Laimbeer, Dave Cowens, former teammates Tyson Chandler and Ben Wallace, and David Robinson.
James is the only player in league history with 30,000 career points, 10,000 rebounds and 10,000 assists, so it’s no surprise he’s also among the elite when it comes to shortlisting. tripled all time.
He’s 5th with 105 and needs three to get past Kidd to finish fourth. James won six triple doubles last season, bringing his total since his 35th birthday to 17 – more than double any other player in NBA history this age. there.
Defensive feat
If the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame required participants to choose a featured game to define their career, James would send a 2016 NBA Finals clip of the in-game chase. His 7 on Andre Iguodala to Springfield, Massachusetts.
James season 93 on the all-time saver list; If he matches his total from last year of 59, he would move up 13 places to draw Bob Lanier and Buck Williams at 80th with 1,100 career batting.
James also knows how to play passes at the back of the field, ranking 10th on the all-time steals list. He’ll win the two-time Defensive Player of the Year Hakeem Olajuwon for 9th place with 27 more hits and overtakes Clyde Drexler for eighth with 72 steals.
Playoff capacity
After missing out on the playoffs for only the fourth time in his 19-year career, James will tell you that getting the Lakers back after the season is his priority over any individual awards.
James said this summer he felt so left out of the biggest stage of the tournament that he found himself waking up at 3 a.m. while on vacation in the Maldives to watch the games as they go live.
“I don’t even want to watch it, because I don’t want to go to these games, because it’s the best time to play basketball, like, the fan in me can’t [resist]”, James said on an episode of his YouTube talk show, “The Shop: Uninterrupt”.” I just love it. “
No wonder why he loves post-season. He’s #1 in playoff history in points, goals, free throws, steals and games played. Not to mention, he is the only player in the top 10 after the season in terms of points, rebounds, assists, steals and saves.
While he’ll have a hard time catching two guys who top him for all-time 3 pointers – he’s third behind golden empire warriors‘ Stephen the curry and Klay Thompson – there are several categories where he can gain some points.
James finished second in the all-time playoff three-doubles, needing three more to overtake Johnson to take the top spot.
And if he can accumulate 118 rebounds, he will overtake a pair of Lakers bigwigs Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O’Neal to go sixth to fourth in the all-time post-season standings.
While James has amassed a lot of records at this point, many of whom seem to have barely signed up with the Lakers star, Abdul-Jabbar’s total score is one of the things that caught his eye.
“I’m really in awe of it,” James said Monday when asked about being about to hit the mark of Abdul-Jabbar. “Like, ‘Wow. “… Sitting here and knowing that I’m about to break perhaps the most sought-after record in the NBA, which people say will probably never do, is just humbling to myself. . I think that’s great.”
