LeBron James became the first player in NBA history to score 50,000 total points (regular + playoff games) on Tuesday night. The milestone encapsulates his sustained excellence. LeBron is putting more distance between himself and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the all-time scoring list with every passing game. By the time he’s all said and done, his record could become impossible to reach.
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Most people expect LeBron to retire within the next two years because that’s what he’s hinted at. The way he’s playing, especially since Luka Doncic arrived, could change that, though. It is increasingly looking as if he has a lot more left in the tank.
In the nine games since pairing up with Luka (till March 3), LeBron has averaged 26.4 points. His average was 24.5 in the 42 games before that. Evidently, the partnership has brought about an upward swing in the King’s production. While discussing the superstar pairing, Shannon Sharpe highlighted this increase to make an interesting claim.
The NFL legend believes that LeBron’s already impressive scoring record would have been out of this world if he’d had a teammate of Luka’s caliber earlier in his career.
“You see what he’s doing at 40. Imagine LeBron at 25 and 30, and he has a Luka that he doesn’t have to worry about setting him up,” Sharpe stated on NightCap. “Luka can do everything that LeBron does, and LeBron gets to focus on just [scoring]. What do you think LeBron’s numbers would have been?”
Sharpe pointed to LeBron’s shooting numbers since Luka arrived in L.A. as proof that he would have scored even more points if he had someone as creative by his side the whole time. Let’s examine whether Sharpe’s theory holds water.
Would James have more points if he always had a teammate like Luka?
LeBron has been accused of being too unselfish in the past, such as in instances when he has passed up taking the game’s final shot in order to find an open teammate. It’s important to remember that passing and making his teammates better has always been an important part of his game, even more than scoring.
Even having a teammate like Luka from a young age wouldn’t have changed that mentality. It would indeed be a shame to see LeBron’s passing and court vision go to waste to become an off-ball player. In that respect, Sharpe’s analysis is off, even if his larger point of Luka being a help to LeBron is sound.
LeBron certainly would have been more efficient as a scorer if he always had Luka, and Sharpe is smart to point out his increased shooting numbers since Luka arrived. After Luka’s arrival, James’ field goal percentage has increased from 51.5% to 53.2%. So has his rebounds per game — 9.3 with the Slovenian by his side compared to 7.8 earlier.
Certainly, LeBron’s efficiency on the court has improved. However, it’s a tricky point since in LeBron’s early Cleveland years since he needed to assume a larger scoring burden as his supporting cast wasn’t strong. So his scoring rate was higher even back then.
At present, LeBron would be more efficient, but he’d also be shooting less because Luka is such a high usage player. Those two things would balance out to keep LeBron at around the same scoring level.
The real benefit in having Luka would reflect the most in wins and losses. LeBron wasn’t able to get over the hump until he joined forces with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami. He wasn’t able to win a title in Cleveland until he had Kyrie Irving.
Sub Luka in for Boobie Gibson or Delonte West and LeBron could have had a chance to win a ring in Cleveland during his first stint itself, from 2003 to 2010.
In the end, it’s difficult to imagine James scoring more than he already has. His numbers are already so immense, and he’s scored so much despite that never being the primary strength of his game.
At this point in his career, having someone like Luka is a godsend that could delay his retirement just enough to give him a real chance at a fifth championship.
