LeBron James is one of the greatest professional basketball players of all time. He has been the face of the NBA for over a decade, and his accomplishments on the court are unparalleled. He has won four championships, three MVP awards, and he has been selected to the All-Star team sixteen times. But one feat that has eluded him is passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the all-time scoring list.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, and he has held that title since 1984. He is the only player to have scored more than 38,000 points, and his record of 38,387 points is unlikely to be broken anytime soon. LeBron James currently sits in fourth place on the all-time scoring list with 33,038 points. But how many points per game does he need to average in order to pass Kareem?
LeBron’s Scoring Average
In order to figure out how many points per game LeBron needs to average in order to pass Kareem, we need to take a look at his career scoring averages. LeBron has played 1,257 regular-season games in his career and he has averaged 27.1 points per game. That number is impressive, but it is not enough to pass Kareem.
To pass Kareem, LeBron needs to average at least 32.7 points per game over the course of the next two seasons. That would put him at 38,400 points, which would surpass Kareem’s record. It is certainly a tall task, but it is not impossible.
The Chances of LeBron Passing Kareem
When looking at the chances of LeBron passing Kareem, one must consider several factors. First, LeBron is 35-years-old and he has logged a lot of minutes in his career. He will likely start to see a decrease in production as he gets older, making it more difficult to reach the 32.7 point per game average he needs to pass Kareem.
Second, LeBron will need to remain healthy in order to reach the necessary scoring average. He has been relatively injury-free throughout his career, but injuries can strike at any time. And third, he will need to remain with the same team for two consecutive seasons in order to have enough games to surpass Kareem.
Conclusion
LeBron James is one of the greatest players of all time, and he is on the verge of passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the all-time scoring list. To do so, he needs to average at least 32.7 points per game over the course of the next two seasons. It is certainly a tall task, but it is not impossible. If LeBron can remain healthy and with the same team, he has a chance to achieve this remarkable feat.