LeBron James is not going to slow down once he hits 30,000 points, 10,000 rebounds and 10,000 assists.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated since it was originally posted to include the score and updated stats following the Lakers’ 122-109 victory over Washington on Friday night.
It is not known what LeBron James is going to achieve, simply because no one has done it before.
30,000 points. 10,000 rebounds. 10,000 transfers.
Can we call it a triple-double career? How about three-five? Yes, that last term sounds ridiculous, but that’s the same feat LeBron is only two assists short of after the Lakers’ victory over the Wizards on Friday night, when LeBron scored 50 points for the second time in less than a week.
His next chance to reach the first milestone will be Sunday when the Lakers visit the Suns in Phoenix (9:00 pm ET, ESPN).
How do we put what has never been done before in the right light? Let’s start by breaking down the achievement piece by piece.
POINTS
LeBron James is one of only three players to ever reach 35,000 career points.
Below is a list of the top scoring players in NBA history. Not only did LeBron reach every rung of that scoring ladder, he was also the youngest player to reach each of those milestones.
- 10,000 points: 381 players
- 15,000 points: 142 players
- 20,000 points: 49 players
- 25,000 points: 23 players
- 30,000 points: 7 players (LeBron, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Dirk Nowitzki, Wilt Chamberlain)
- 35,000 points: 3 players (Karim, Malone, LeBron)
>> Related: Important baskets in the career of LeBron James
It’s not just that no player has ever scored 30,000 points, 10,000 rebounds and 10,000 assists in their careers, as only seven players have ever scored 30,000 points. Even if we lower the scoring threshold to 10,000 points, there is still no other player who has reached the triple five (10K-10K-10K).
Throughout his career, LeBron has had a contentious relationship with the “bomber” label. When he passed Jordan as the all-time NBA playoff scorer, he was adamant that he didn’t want to be called a “bomber”.
“I am not a scorer. I don’t want to be called a scorer. I can shoot the ball into the ring, but I’m a playmaker,” he said. “I’m a player. Get me on the court and I’ll find ways to succeed. When you talk about scorers, there are a lot of great scorers in our league of all time, guys who shoot a lot of shots, shooters who score with high accuracy. I’m not one of those guys. I am a guy who has always been happy and excited to see his team succeed.”
Compare this to his comments from a recent episode of his Showtime series The Store: “When they talk about the all-time top scorers, they never mention my name.” James then added, “It pisses me off.”
This 30K-10K-10K feat proves both of these statements are correct. LeBron is much more than a scorer and influences every aspect of the game, as evidenced by his playmaker and rebounding, and eye checks prove every night. At the same time, when it comes to the scoring aspect of his game, LeBron is one of the best players of all time.
While LeBron doesn’t have Jordan’s 10 scoring titles or the incredible scoring peaks of players like Wilt (50.4 ppg 1961-62), Jordan (37.1 ppg 1986-87), Kobe (35 , 4 points per game in 2005-06) or James Harden. (36.1 points per game in 2018-19), no player has ever matched the level of consistent skill and longevity we’ve seen from LeBron.
After his second 50-plus game in less than a week on Friday, LeBron currently leads the NBA in scoring (29.71 points per game), behind Joel Embiid (29.68) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (29.66). In his 19th season, that’s LeBron’s highest average in over a decade, and he’s on pace with his 18th consecutive season averaging at least 25 points – no other player has more than 11 such seasons. The fact that he is fighting for his second scoring title at such a late stage in his career is simply unheard of.
Take a look at this list of players who averaged 10 points or more in Season 19 or later.
No player has matched LeBron’s performance and efficiency so deep in his career. LeBron is already fifth in scoring in league history (27.09 points per game) – trailing only Jordan (30.12), Chamberlain (30.07), Elgin Baylor (27.36) and Kevin Durant (27.11) — and it’s still increasing that 37-year average. Old.
rebounds
LeBron James hit his 10,000th career rebound on January 19 against the Pacers.
LeBron grabbed 10,000 career rebounds on January 19, 2022 and is currently 39th in the overall category. Despite being at the top of the points rankings when it comes to rebounding, he ends up in the middle of this list of the league’s top wipers.
- 5,000 rebounds: 270 players
- 7500 rebounds: 88 players
- 10,000 rebounds: 42 players (including LeBron)
- 12,500 rebounds: 19 players
- 15,000 rebounds: 6 players (Wilt, Bill Russell, Kareem, Alvin Hayes, Moses Malone, Tim Duncan)
As a perimeter player, it’s much harder to rack up rebounds like some of the greatest players of all time. LeBron is the 16th all-time off-center and there are only nine players in league history with more rebounds that are shorter than LeBron at 6ft 9in.
Now that we’ve explored the two categories, we can now take a look at some of the other characteristics of combinations.
- 10,000 PTS, 10,000 REB: 38 players
- 15,000 PTS, 10,000 REB: 27 players
- 20,000 PTS, 10,000 REB: 19 players
- 25,000 PTS, 10,000 REB: 11 players
- 30,000 points, 10,000 REB: 5 players (Karim, K. Malone, LeBron, Dirk, Wilt)
- 35,000 PTS, 10,000 REB: 3 players (Karim, K. Malone, LeBron)
HELPS
LeBron James was just 2 cents short of 10,000 assists.
Already a member of a club with 30,000 points and a club with 10,000 rebounds, LeBron only needs two assists to become the seventh player ever added to a club with 10,000 assists – one of the game’s greatest playmakers.
CLUB 10 000 ASSIST
- John Stockton: 15,806
- Jason Kidd: 12,091
- Chris Paul: 10,894
- Steve Nash: 10,335
- Mark Jackson: 10,334
- Magic Johnson: 10,141
Of the three stats needed for a career triple-double, assists are the hardest to come by, and LeBron will be the last to cross them off the list. There are 381 players with 10,000 points, 42 players with 10,000 boards, but only six with 10,000 dimes.
Of the six players who have already reached 10,000 career assists, none of them average more than 20 points per game – Magic leads the group with 19.5 points per game, followed by Paul (18.2), Nash (14.3), Stockton (13.1), Kidd. (12.6) and Jackson (9.6). LeBron is averaging 27.1 points per game, more than double the average in the second half of this field.
Paul is currently the only member of the club to hit 20,000 points and 10,000 assists, though he’ll have company very soon as he and LeBron share an instinct for when it’s time to create for teammates and when it’s time to call their own. number to get a bucket.
Where LeBron differs from Paul is that LeBron is one of only seven players in league history to have won both the scoring title (2007-08, 30.0 ppg) and the assists title (2019- 20, 10.2 gears). LeBron joins Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, Nate Archibald, Russell Westbrook and James Harden as the only players to accomplish this feat.
Let’s go back to the stat combos we started in the rebounding section and add assists to them:
- 10,000 PTS, 10,000 REB, 2,000 AST: 33 players
- 10,000 PTS, 10,000 REB, 3,000 AST: 17 players
- 10,000 PTS, 10,000 REB, 4,000 AST: 8 players (LeBron, Kareem, Kevin Garnett, K. Malone, Wilt, Duncan, Barkley, Russell)
- 10,000 PTS, 10,000 REB, 5,000 AST: 4 players (LeBron, Kareem, Garnett, K. Malone)
- 20k PTS, 10k REB, 5k AST: 4 players (doubling the points threshold didn’t change anything)
- 30K PTS, 10K REB, 5K AST: 3 players (It took another 10,000 points to remove Garnett)
- 10,000 PTS, 10,000 REB, 6,000 AST: 1 player (LeBron)
LeBron and Kareem are the only two players in the top 50 in all three categories. LeBron is third in points, seventh in assists, and 39th in rebounds; Karim is first in points, third in rebounds and 45th in assists.
STILL CLIMBING THE LADDER
LeBron James of the Lakers scored 56 points and 10 rebounds against the Warriors, 03/05/2022
Since LeBron should be the first to break the 30-10-10K milestone, we have to remember that he’s not finished yet. He’s 37 and in his 19th season, but he’s still posting incredible numbers, including his recent 56-point shot, which not only marked his highest-scoring game in four seasons with the Lakers, but tied with third. the highest-scoring game of his career, as well as his 50-point game against Washington six days later.
LeBron enters Sunday’s game against Phoenix with season averages of 29.7 points, 8.2 rebounds and 6.3 assists over 48 games played. The Lakers have 16 games left in the regular season, all of which are significant as Los Angeles sits in 9th place in the Western Conference.
Points (36,793; 3rd)
- It takes 136 to pass Karl Malone for second all-time (5 games based on current PPG)
- It takes 1595 to beat Kareem to be #1 of all time (54 games based on current PPG; 59 based on career PPG)
One big move LeBron has to make in the last month of the regular season is to pass Karl Malone for second place on the all-time top scorers list. Based on LeBron’s current batting average, it would only take him five games to pass Malone, leaving Kareem only ahead of LeBron in career points in league history. This chase should continue next season as LeBron needs almost 1600 more points to catch up with the captain.
Rebounds (10 143; 39)
- Need 66 to pass Zach Randolph for 38th all time (9 games based on current RPG)
- Need 355 to pass David Robinson for 32nd all time (44 games based on current RPG); along the way he passed Otis Thorpe, Bill Laimbeer, Dave Cowens, Tyson Chandler and Ben Wallace.
LeBron is on track to pass Zach Randolph on the all-time rebounding list this season, and could make even bigger strides on the leaderboard next season.
Assists (9998; 7th)
- Need 2 to reach 10,000 – 7th player ever to reach the milestone (1 game based on current APG)
- It takes 144 to beat Magic for 6th all-time (24 games based on current APG)
- It takes 337 to pass Jackson to 5th all time and 338 to pass Nash to 4th all time (55 games based on current APG to pass both)
Although LeBron will reach 10,000 career assists this season, he will need another one to move further up the leaderboard. However, he has three legends in his sights that he should catch next season, as long as he is in good health. LeBron is already the only player in the top 10 in both scoring and assists, and he will likely be in the top 5 in both categories next season.
Triple-double (104, 5th)
- It takes 4 to pass Jason Kidd for 4th all time.
LeBron is fifth on the all-time triple-doubles list and needs four more to pass Jason Kidd for fourth behind the Magic, Oscar and Westbrook. So far, LeBron has five triple-doubles this season in 48 games played and has finished with five or more triple-doubles in each of the past six seasons. If this trend continues next season, expect LeBron to overtake Kidd.