Lebron James and the NBA Scoring Record

[Jimmy Higgins]

The Washington Post (gifted) has a pretty good article on the stats of Lebron's achievement, as well as great stats comparing him with the other top players. Looking at his consistency, he is hands done one of the best ever, along side the greats of Jabbar and Jordan, both also sharing last names that start(-ish) with J.

Unfortunately the Lakers have a damned home game tonight, which means Lebron won't likely break the record until well past 11 PM (EST).

 

[Tharmas]

Thanks for posting the article. I'll forward it to MS Tharmas, who's the one who got me started in the whole NBA thing.

 

[ZiprHead]

Game doesn't start here 'til 10. I'm usually nighty night by then.

 

[Tharmas]

Well congratulations are due to "King James". I didn't stay up to watch it. Of course for the most part Jabbar didn't play when 3-pointers were legal, but still, LeBron accomplished his goal in fewer games, and I think certainly deserves the title.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Unless James retires, he'll keep that tally rising. I don't think many players have had his output this deep into their career. James is a beast and one of the greatest of all time. This guy came into the NBA as a teenager, lifted Cleveland on his shoulders and got them to a final well before it should have ever been possible. He did what Jordan couldn't early in his career. My only knock on James is that if we a bit more coachable, he'd probably have a number more titles to his name.

After all, Jordan was one of the best ever, but he also had one of the best ever coaches too.

 

[rousseau]

I've never followed the NBA much due to lack of cable at home and their streaming app being awful. But I'll never forget the 2016 finals when Lebron took the Cavs to a title against Golden State at their peak. I spent some time at the bar, having beers and watching that series.

If nothing else cements his legacy, that series might be it.

 

[rousseau]

Why Jordan Didn't Break the Scoring Record

A nice little article here. It argues that Jordan was a much better scorer than James, but in practice had about 7 fewer seasons, among a few other things.

 

[hurtinbuckaroo]

Why Jordan Didn't Break the Scoring Record

A nice little article here. It argues that Jordan was a much better scorer than James, but in practice had about 7 fewer seasons, among a few other things.

James got a head start by skipping college (while Jordan wasn’t NBA-ready at age 18, he would have been quite functional at that level by his junior year) and Jordan had to walk away for two seasons in his prime after his dad was murdered. Still, breaking that record was an amazing accomplishment.

I saw a list of the other “unbreakable” NBA records; half are held by Chamberlain, and his 100-point game wasn’t one of them (single-season scoring average and rebounding average, career rebounds, and single-season average minutes per game of 48.5).

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Why Jordan Didn't Break the Scoring Record

A nice little article here. It argues that Jordan was a much better scorer than James, but in practice had about 7 fewer seasons, among a few other things.

Hard to say. James did more with Cleveland than Jordan did in Chicago in the early portions of their career. Taking Cleveland to the Final against the Spurs was incredible.

Jordan was a god though. He was the NBA's Wayne Gretzky.

 

[hurtinbuckaroo]

Why Jordan Didn't Break the Scoring Record

A nice little article here. It argues that Jordan was a much better scorer than James, but in practice had about 7 fewer seasons, among a few other things.

Hard to say. James did more with Cleveland than Jordan did in Chicago in the early portions of their career. Taking Cleveland to the Final against the Spurs was incredible.

Jordan was a god though. He was the NBA's Wayne Gretzky.

He would have been if Gretzky had been good on defense. Jordan was one of the best defensive players of his era, in addition to being by far the best scorer. He won Defensive Player of the Year in 1988 AND averaged 35 points per game.

 

[Tharmas]

Why Jordan Didn't Break the Scoring Record

A nice little article here. It argues that Jordan was a much better scorer than James, but in practice had about 7 fewer seasons, among a few other things.

The Jordan/James debate will probably never die. I haven't looked it up, but there may be a number of pure scorers with career per game averages better than LeBron's and Jordan's. LeBron's big asset was/is certainly longevity. The man he displaced at the top, Jabbar, had an exceptionally long career as well.

I will add that LeBron's rebounding and assists averages substantially exceed Jordan's, so my vote goes to him as the better player overall. I think your article makes that point as well.

I don't know if the game is a whole lot faster than it used to be. Ironically, my team, the Mavericks, were a run and shoot team back in the 90s - nowadays they are the slowest team in the league. Go figure.

 

[rousseau]

Why Jordan Didn't Break the Scoring Record

A nice little article here. It argues that Jordan was a much better scorer than James, but in practice had about 7 fewer seasons, among a few other things.

The Jordan/James debate will probably never die. I haven't looked it up, but there may be a number of pure scorers with career per game averages better than LeBron's and Jordan's. LeBron's big asset was/is certainly longevity. The man he displaced at the top, Jabbar, had an exceptionally long career as well.

I will add that LeBron's rebounding and assists averages substantially exceed Jordan's, so my vote goes to him as the better player overall. I think your article makes that point as well.

I don't know if the game is a whole lot faster than it used to be. Ironically, my team, the Mavericks, were a run and shoot team back in the 90s - nowadays they are the slowest team in the league. Go figure.

I tried for a couple seasons to sign up for the NBA streaming app, it just never worked well on my Roku TV so unfortunately I've missed most of Lebron's career. In the 90s when Jordan was playing I was a kid, and hockey was what we watched. Although I think my brother or I had some Bulls apparel at some point.

When it comes to comparing greats I'm of the opinion that it can't really be done, for the most part. Different eras, different quality of opponent, different game, and on and on. The most you can reasonably do is look at someone's statistics and plop them in the legendary tier.

One interesting argument is Messi vs Pele. If you look at Messi's statistics he's pretty much far beyond what any player in history has ever done. But purists will claim that Pele exceeded even that. Who's better? I don't know, but wouldn't want to defend against either of them.