LeBron James now has more points scored this season than every single other player who has ever played in their 21st NBA season combined. After scoring 30 points against the San Antonio Spurs Friday night, LeBron’s season point total stood at 1,246 points, which passed the other five players who ever played in a 21st season all put together (1,230 points): Vince Carter (562 points), Dirk Nowitzki (373 points), Robert Parish (161 points), Kevin Garnett (122 points) and Kevin Willis (12 points).
By all means, playing this long in the NBA is an accomplishment in and of itself, let alone being in the league longer than some players have been alive, and to actually still be one of the most dominant among your peers is unprecedented. They say Father Time is undefeated, but it still has no answer in regards to LeBron’s longevity. In view of the fact that at 39 years old, LeBron is averaging 25 points per game, which is more than the added-up amount of all other five players to have reached the 21-season milestone: Carter (7.4 ppg), Nowitzki (7.3 ppg), Parish (3.7 ppg), Garnett (3.2 ppg) and Willis (2.4 ppg).
Notably, LeBron is the oldest player in the NBA right now, yet he still has demonstrated his value of being the biggest difference-maker for his team, as the Lakers are +83 with LeBron on the court this season, while on the other hand are -113 when LeBron is off the court. As can be seen, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer has shown no signs of stopping anytime soon, as he is now only 74 points away from being the first player to reach the 40,000 NBA career point milestone.
To point out, LeBron is also exactly 200 points away from scoring the most points in world basketball history (regular season league games, playoffs and international competitions), as he trails only Brazilian basketball player Oscar Schmidt, who scored 49,737 points throughout his 29-year career (1974-2003). To note, LeBron (2003-present) currently has 49,538 career points scored in official professional basketball competitions, which also includes All-Star Games and games played for Team USA.
LeBron’s next chance to add to his point total will be vs. the neighboring LA Clippers on February 28 at 7 pm (ESPN broadcast), as the Lakers, who are currently the ninth-ranked team in the Western Conference, will hope to improve off their 31-28 record in their fight for a playoff spot.
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