In the past few seasons, LeBron James has virtually always made history whenever he has gone onto the court. A player his age or with his level of expertise has never performed at such a phenomenally high level for as long. James is updating the manual on sturdiness and will be able to add more achievements to his resume in Year 21.
James can aim for five new records he can set in the 2023–24 season after breaking 11 other milestones last season and becoming the NBA’s all-time top scorer.
The only player ever to reach 40,000 points
The record that the majority of fans will be focusing on is James’ attempt to reach 40,000 career points during the regular season. Given that he finished last season as the league’s highest scorer, there is no one left to exceed him, but he can make it even more difficult for future generations to surpass his record by becoming the only player in NBA history to reach 40,000 points. He is now 1,348 points shy of 40K with 38,652 lifetime points.
The NBA’s record for most rebounds by a small forward
With 10,667 career rebounds at the completion of the 2017–18 campaign, LeBron James was second among small forwards in league history. He still trails the legendary Elgin Baylor of the Lakers, who finished his career with 11,463 rebounds.
It will be difficult for James to exceed Baylor this season because he must average over 9.7 rebounds over the duration of the 82-game campaign. He is projected to surpass the 11,000 rebound mark and into the all-time top 30 of rebound leaders as a result of his shift to playing more in the post and an increase in rebounding statistics.
NBA History’s Most All-Star Appearances
When James received his 19th All-NBA selection last season, he had already broken the previous record for most selections. He is the only player with more than 15 choices, and he will aim to become a member of his 20th All-NBA squad.
James may tie Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most All-Star appearances in league history if he is selected to his 20th All-Star squad, which would break the previous record.
Moving Up To Seventh All-Time In Made Three-Pointers
LeBron James won’t ever be recognized as a sniper on the court, but due to the length of his NBA career, he may be compared to some of the greatest shooters of all time in terms of the number of three-pointers he has made in a lifetime. James now ranks eighth among all-time three-point shooters with 2,261 made attempts from beyond the arc.
Making Eighth Place In Steals For All-Time
In order to reduce the strain on his body, LeBron hasn’t played great defense for the last five years of his career, but he is still incredibly capable of making the right decisions in the open court to create turnovers. He has 2,186 career steals, which puts him ninth all-time, barely ahead of Hakeem Olajuwon (2,162 career steals).
LeBron James will try to maintain his dominance next season
Most fans and members of the media question if an older player’s form would ultimately decline this season when they start a new campaign. Since 2018, LeBron has been the subject of speculation since many people thought his athletic build would not withstand time.
He’s obviously not the same player he once was, but he’s still good enough to be able to overwhelm opponents without depending on his lightning-fast court speed.
LeBron will surely be able to claim the title of having the greatest career in NBA history if he is able to play a healthy season and continue to add achievements to his résumé. But unless LeBron pulls off the unfathomable and leads the Lakers to a championship as a 39-year-old in his 21st NBA season, the GOAT title may still be out of reach for him.