LeBron James has set innumerable records over the course of his glorious 21-year-long career which is still going strong. The four-time NBA champion has racked up some jaw-dropping stats in the last two decades that are not only incredible but are pretty much unbreakable in the current context of the game. James’ former teammate Shaquille O’Neal recently shared on his social media a list of five such stats recorded by the King which will probably be untouched forever.
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The list features LeBron’s regular season points tally, which currently stands at 40,474. He’ll likely break the 43,000 mark before he retires. The next record is his playoff points tally of 8,162. The closest to James in the category is Michael Jordan with 5,987. Among active players, Kevin Durant is the closest with 4,985 points.
Barring his rookie season, James has earned an All-Star nomination and an All-NBA nod every single year. He equaled Tim Duncan’s record of 15 All-NBA nods in 2019 before adding five more to make the record his own. It took him until his 21st season to surpass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s mark of 19 All-Star selections. But his record seems pretty much ‘untouchable’ at the moment.
Shaq on his IG story pic.twitter.com/hCIYlQP4mV
— tragicpatek (@tragicpatek) May 31, 2024
One of the toughest feats that James has accomplished is ironically one that could easily be replicated soon. The four-time NBA champion has won Finals MVP with three different teams, the most by any player.
However, Kawhi Leonard has won Finals MVP with two different teams and he could replicate James’ feat if he adds a third to his tally. Ironically, the veteran forward was expected to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to a title before LeBron could win one with the Lakers. But James led his team to a championship in 2020 and won the Finals MVP as well to edge out the Klaw.
These five records really show how consistent and durable LeBron has been in the league. In addition, the Lakers superstar entered the league straight out of high school at the age of 18 and started balling out straight from the jump.
So to surpass Bron’s records as a one-and-done NBA athlete today, a player not only has to be as consistent and as dominant, but would also have to compensate for one extra year. That’s pretty much impossible to do. And Shaquille O’Neal knows that all too well as someone who witnessed it all first-hand.
Shaquille O’Neal witnessed LeBron James’ aura firsthand
Leading three different franchises to NBA titles requires unmatched talent, which LeBron James has always had. LeBron’s talent reigned supreme in the league to such an extent that even Shaq was jealous.
The Hall of Fame center spent a season in Cleveland playing alongside James and realized how much power he wields over the teams he plays for. In an episode of The Big Podcast with Shaq, O’Neal said,
“I was kinda jealous of [LeBron James] because he got to do stuff I could never do. Like, coach would be like, ‘Hey man, we practicing at 10.’ LeBron would be like, ‘No, we practicing at 12,’ ‘All right, practice at 12.’ And I was like, God damn. He get to bring his family members on the plane. So, I was like, ‘I’ve been the man for a long time. I’ve never had this much power.’”
During his prime years, O’Neal could not always do what his heart desired. But the NBA has been more superstar-driven since then. Now franchise players wield much more influence than before.
