LeBron stays legendary en route to 1,000th regular-season game
With his 32nd birthday a little over a month away, Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James has already reached enough milestones and achieved enough accolades to be considered one of the very best to ever grace the hardwood - and he's showing absolutely no signs of slowing down.
On Friday night at Quicken Loans Arena, James will take the floor for the 1,000th time during the regular season when the reigning NBA champions play host to the Dallas Mavericks.
Shy one appearance, The King already compares statistically to other all-time greats through the first 1,000 games of their respective careers.
LeBron James (999 games) vs. NBA Legends (1,000 games)
Player | Minutes | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
LeBron James | 38913 | 27119 | 7169 | 6927 | 1671 | 780 |
Michael Jordan | 38250 | 30809 | 6217 | 5351 | 2408 | 858 |
Shaquille O'Neal | 36447 | 25737 | 11527 | 2722 | 636 | 2464 |
Tim Duncan | 36239 | 20949 | 11546 | 3168 | 752 | 2276 |
Kobe Bryant | 36540 | 25278 | 5298 | 4644 | 1529 | 561 |
Kevin Garnett | 37927 | 20407 | 11213 | 4395 | 1386 | 1666 |
Scottie Pippen | 35755 | 17111 | 6670 | 5302 | 2042 | 870 |
Dirk Nowitzki | 36465 | 22947 | 8354 | 2676 | 891 | 984 |
Jason Kidd | 37362 | 14322 | 6737 | 9258 | 1987 | 301 |
Paul Pierce | 36956 | 22072 | 6026 | 3842 | 1473 | 628 |
Vince Carter | 35505 | 21320 | 5060 | 3857 | 1157 | 674 |
(courtesy: Basketball-Reference.com)
During his 14 seasons with both the Cavaliers and Miami Heat, James-led teams possess an overall record of 671-328 (.672), with James owning 194.7 total win shares (an estimate of the number of wins contributed by a player).
Numbers don't tell the entire story, though, as James' list of accomplishments since going first overall to his hometown squad in the 2003 draft help paint the picture of an unstoppable basketball force and unworldly talent who's the face of his generation and a surefire bet for a spot in Springfield:
- three-time NBA champion
- three-time NBA Finals Most Valuable Player
- four-time NBA Most Valuable Player
- 12-time NBA All-Star
- two-time NBA All-Star Most Valuable Player
- 10-time All-NBA First Team
- five-time NBA All-Defensive First Team
- NBA Rookie of the Year (2004)
- NBA scoring champion (2008)
He's currently hovering around the triple-double mark for his 2016-17 averages (12 games) at 23.8 points (his lowest scoring output since his rookie year, mind you), 8.5 rebounds, and 9.3 assists on 50.2 percent shooting from the field.