James will return to the Los Angeles Lakers for 2023-24, which will be his 21st season in the NBA, and he will turn 39 in December.
What milestones James will reach in the near future. He is already the all-time scoring champion, just a similar performance to last season, unprecedented for a player of his age.
Here's what LeBron James will create and accomplish next season.
1. A series of records for the oldest (rebounds, points, minutes played...). ）
In 20 years, James averaged 28.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 0.9 steals in 35.5 minutes per game, while shooting 58.3% from the field.
In 2002–03, Carl Malone averaged 20.6 points per game, the highest scoring player in his 39-year-old season. That same year, Michael Jordan averaged 20 points in his second season with the Washington Wizards, his last season in the NBA. Except that season, no NBA player averaged 20 points per game at age 39. James will definitely cross that line. (In 2021-22, at the age of 37, James averaged 30.3 points per game; No one has ever averaged more than 27 points per game over the age of 35. )
James would be the same as Malone (36.2 minutes per game in 2002-03) and Jordan (37 minutes per game that season) as the player over 39 to play more than 33 minutes per game in the over-39 season.
He would even become the player over 39 averaging more than eight rebounds per game in the over-39 season, like Malone (8.7 rebounds per game in 2003-04) and Robert Parrish (9.4 rebounds per game in 1992-93).
And he's likely to become the only player other than John Stockton (7.7 assists per game in 2002-03 and 8.2 assists per game in 2001-02) to average more than six assists per game in the season over 39.
2. The first player to be named an All-Star 20 times
James has equaled Abdul-Jabbar as the most All-Star player in NBA history (19 times), and Abdul-Jabbar's first All-Star selection was due to injury. James is the only player in NBA history to be named an All-Star 19 times in a row and an All-Star starter 19 times. Next season, he could become the league's first 20-time All-Star and first 20-time All-Star starter.
If he is selected as a starter for the season at the age of 39, it will happen for the first time ever. Jordan started in the 2003 All-Star Game, but that was because Vince Carter gave up his starting spot—initially, Jordan came on as a substitute. Abdul-Jabbar was named an All-Star as a backup in 1987 and 1988 and as an All-Star as an injury substitute in 1989. In addition to Dirk Nowitzki, who played in the 2019 All-Star Game as a "special team member" during the 40-year-old season, the only All-Star player in history to be this old.
3. NBA Team of the Year
James also has a chance to become the first player to be named to the NBA's All-NBA Team 20 times. At 19 times, he has set a record for the best appearances in the NBA (Abdul Abdul-Jabbar, Duncan and Bryant Bryant 15 each), and last season he became the third player to win the best team in the 38-year-old, the previous two being Duncan in 2014-15 and Abdul-Jabbar in 1985-86.
4. Most playing time (except Abdul-Jabbar)
James will need a few more seasons to catch up with Abdul-Jabbar's record for minutes played (57,446 minutes), but he is on the verge of becoming number two on the list. James played a total of 54,092 regular-season minutes in his career, 760 minutes less than Malone played in total. If he averages as many games per game in 2023-24 as he does in 2022-23, he will overtake Malone in Game 22 of the season.
5. Top 3 free throws
James has the fourth highest number of free throws in history (8,087), 291 fewer than Kobe Bryant's career free throw total. If James averages 4.6 free throws next season like he did last year, he would need to play 64 games to outtake Bryant.
6. Get close to a true center on the defensive rebounding list
Only 10 players have grabbed 9,000 defensive rebounds in their careers, including James, who snatched 9,001.
7. Overtake multiple shooters in a row on three-pointers
James made 2,261 three-pointers, ninth all-time. His ranking is bound to be higher, as he is only 21 behind Jason Terry and 29 behind Vince Carter. If he can average 2.9 three-pointers per game and play in 66 games as he did in 2021-22, he will also surpass former teammate Kyle Korver (2,450), who is currently fifth but will soon be overtaken by Damian Lillard.
One small problem: Klay Thompson averages just 48 fewer three-pointers per game than James, and 3.8 three-pointers per game last season (compared to 2.2 three-pointers per game). The most likely scenario is that James surpasses Terry and Carter, but only rises one place.
8. Join the three-point playoff club
Another possible three-point milestone: If James makes 40 three-pointers in the 2023-24 playoffs, he will join Stephen Curry and Thompson as the club that makes 500 three-pointers in his career playoffs.
Last season, James hit 28 three-pointers in 16 playoff games. But he scored 44, 39 and 44 in 2019-20, 2018-19 and 2016-17, respectively, and his team reached the finals all of those seasons. If you think the Lakers are strong contenders for championships, that's not unrealistic.
9. Shoot the most
Although James doesn't consider himself a scorer, exactly, he'll soon become the man with the most shots on the NBA court. In total, James made 28,044 shots, 263 fewer than Abdul-Jabbar had in his career. If he can average 22.2 shots per game next season like he did in 2022-23, he will be in first place in his 12th game.
10. Steals
With 2,186 steals in his career, James is ninth on the all-time steals list, just 21 fewer than eighth-ranked Drexler. If he can average 0.9 steals per game as he did in 2022-23, he will overtake Drexler in Game 24 of the season.
This combination of consistency and durability has never been seen before. Who says it can't go on? The legend continues, and glory awaits the coronation.