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LeBron stays legendary en route to 1,000th regular-season game

Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

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.

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