LeBron James passes Jerry West for 7th on all-time playoff scoring list
The points stack up quickly when you don't miss the playoffs for 10 consecutive seasons.
Tough as it may be to believe, LeBron James became the league's seventh all-time leading playoff scorer on Tuesday at age 30. The Cleveland Cavaliers superstar passed "The Logo" Jerry West with his 4,458th point, which came on a driving layup at the 10:42 mark of the second quarter.
With that last bucket, LeBron James passes Jerry West for 7th place on the all-time playoff scoring list! @NBAHistory pic.twitter.com/lITo9E2qZb
— NBA (@NBA) April 22, 2015
The bucket gave James 19 points for the night and he quickly added to that total (he finished with 30), already setting his sights on Karl Malone for sixth on the list.
| Player | Playoff Games | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Michael Jordan | 179 | 5987 |
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 237 | 5762 |
| Kobe Bryant | 220 | 5640 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 216 | 5250 |
| Tim Duncan | 235 | 4999 |
| Karl Malone | 193 | 4761 |
| LeBron James | 160 | 4469 |
| Jerry West | 153 | 4457 |
| Larry Bird | 164 | 3897 |
| John Havlicek | 172 | 3776 |
Among all players to play at least three playoff games - sorry Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving - James trails only Jordan, West and Kevin Durant in scoring average, putting up 27.9 points per game.
James reaching the heights of such luminaries at age 30 is incredible, and it's made possible by deep playoff run after deep playoff run. James hasn't missed the playoffs or failed to win a series since debuting in Cleveland in 2005-06, making the NBA Finals five times.