James ready to continue breaking records
As a player, James is already one of the greatest talents basketball has ever produced. Because although he has been a prolific scorer, he has not been characterized only by converting as the only function within the playing rectangle. On the contrary: he has been a Big Brother with eyes for others, a Mamushka capable of becoming small, medium or large depending on the needs of the environment.
The day he leaves, he will be missed by many. Not only the fans, but also his detractors. You can like him or not, but it is impossible to be indifferent to such an athlete.
What is certain is that James goes into the 2022-23 season with 37,062 points scored, 1,326 points behind all-time leader Abdul-Jabbar. Assuming he manages to maintain his average of 27.1 points per appearance, he could cross the mark midway through the current regular series. Now, one thing that’s important to understand is what Kareem accomplished at the time: the Sky Hook King was the all-time leading scorer with only one three-point shot in his entire career. He even played half his career without the chance to shoot from behind the arc, and in those days it was frowned upon for a giant to shoot from long distance. The opportunity wasn’t even considered.
Fast forward: there were seven all-time scoring leaders in NBA history. And the marks were always broken. Joe Fulks was first from 1946 to 1952, George Mikan from 1952 to 1957, Ed Macauley in 1957, Dolph Schayes from 1957 to 1963, Bob Pettit from 1963 to 1966, Wilt Chamberlain from 1966 to 1984 and Kareem from 1984 to today.
It’s been 38 years of continuous dominance and that’s what LeBron is about to break in today’s league. What’s interesting is the number of games it took one and the other: Kareem needed 1,560 games to convert his 38,387 points and James collects his units with just over 200 fewer games (1,366).
This record will be important to James’ legacy, but it doesn’t really define him in terms of his thinking and genesis as a talent. James has been, for many, the most complete player the NBA has ever produced. And it’s justified by other records he’s on the verge of breaking.
Take, for example, the case of assists. He ranks seventh all-time with 10,045 and needs only 97 to surpass Magic Johnson for sixth place. With 291 he will surpass Steve Nash and Mark Jackson to move into fourth place.
And there’s more: with 2,140 he is the 11th most prolific three-point shooter in history. He needs just four more shots from behind the arc to pass Paul Pierce for 10th place. He is third all-time with 52,139, which clearly marks the physical prodigy he possesses for the sport; with 2,714 more, he will surpass Karl Malone for second all-time. And this is not conditioned by the number of games, because he is not in the Top 10. Today he is 14th with 1,366 and needs 15 to surpass Clifford Robinson. With the 59 he plays this season he will move to the No. 8 spot.
Not only that: he is 10th all-time in steals with 2,136 and needs 27 to pass Hakeem Olajuwon. Last season he recorded 73 steals, a career low. That said, if he gets at least 72, he will also surpass Clyde Drexler on the list.
In triple-doubles, LeBron is fifth all-time with 105 and needs just four more to catch Jason Kidd. He has 17 triple-doubles since turning 35, more than twice as many as any other player his age in NBA history.
What James has accomplished is incredible, but even more incredible is the thought of how far he can go. Because nothing seems to indicate that this is LeBron’s last season in the NBA. He is 37 years old and appears to be healthy and hungry for more. Despite the years of wear and tear, the strain of overexertion and the extreme competitiveness that comes with being an elite star, he can still fight on with no problem. The King will play as long as he wants, because we have already seen that he is capable of doing a little bit of everything.
Dynamic, versatile and unique in his abilities, James is set to continue breaking records on his way to eternity.
We are all witnesses to history.
