How difficult is it to average 25+ points per game in 11 seasons in his career? Only 6 people in the NBA have done it so far, and James is the only one

Preface

In the star-studded NBA, there are too many scorers here, like retired Jordan, Kobe Bryant, etc., who will cause problems for opponents as soon as they are on the court. Doncic, Jokic, Antetokounmpo, Embiid and others are also big killers on the offensive end, and as long as they want to score, almost no team can stop them.

However, there has never been a shortage of scoring champions in the history of the league, and the most important thing for a player is his stability, and there are not a few players like the kind of player who suddenly explode in a season and then decline. Looking at the NBA for so many years, only 6 players have averaged 25+ points per game in at least 11 seasons in their careers, which is as good as Kobe Bryant, who can only rank third in history.

6. Jerry West (11 seasons)

As a famous legend in the history of the Lakers, West must have achieved various honors in order to have today's historical status, and the average score of 25+ points per game for 11 consecutive seasons is also a dazzling record in West's career. You must know that West has played 14 seasons in the NBA throughout his career, and except for his rookie season, where he averaged only 17.6 points per game, he averaged more than 20 points per game in the rest of the season.

In West's prime, he was also the scoring champion, averaging 31.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and 7.5 assists per game in the 1969-1970 season. However, since this year, West has also put more effort into the organization, so his points per game average has been declining, and in the 1971-1972 season he won the assist title again, and he also successfully helped the team win the championship that season.

5. Jordan (11 seasons)

Needless to say, Jordan's scoring ability is undoubtedly one of the greatest scorers in history, and he has also achieved various honors in this regard, such as 10 scoring titles, which is also considered by many to be the hardest record in NBA history to break. After Jordan entered the league, he averaged 28.2 points per game in his rookie season, and if it weren't for his injury in the second season, his average points per game dropped to 22.7 points, and he would probably have been able to maintain an average of 25+ points per game for 9 consecutive seasons.

Since the third season, Jordan has averaged more than 30+ points per game for 7 consecutive seasons, and when he chose to retire later, he played 17 games after his temporary comeback in the 1994-1995 season. But then Jordan gradually regained his form, so he averaged at least 28 points per game for three consecutive seasons. After retiring for the second time, Jordan returned to the Wizards, but at this time his state is no longer at his peak, but for a veteran who is almost 40 years old, an average of 20+ per game is quite good.

4. Karl Malone (12 seasons)

Malone played a total of 19 seasons in the NBA, during which he scored a total of 36,928 points in the regular season, ranking third in history, which shows that his scoring ability is also among the best in history. As a well-known evergreen in the NBA, Malone is also quite durable, his first season with an average of 25+ per game was the 1987-1988 season, and the last season with an average of 25+ per game was the 1999-2000 season, with a gap of 12 years.

Originally, Malone had the opportunity to average more than 25 points per game for 13 consecutive seasons, but unfortunately the 1998-1999 season encountered a shortened season, and he did not go all out in the regular season that year, so his data was "only" 23.8 points, but that year he led the Jazz to a record tied for the first place in the league with the Spurs, and was elected MVP instead.

3. Kobe Bryant (12 seasons)

Compared to other stars, Kobe Bryant could only start off the bench when he first debuted, and he only averaged 15.5 minutes per game in his rookie season. However, Kobe Bryant did not give up, through his continuous efforts, he gradually had a more stable opportunity to play, and from the 1999-2000 season he basically sat in the starting position, and later he became the top helper next to O'Neal, and with his help the Lakers also successfully won a triple championship.

At that time, even if there was a supergiant like O'Neal by his side, Kobe's brilliance could not be concealed, and he also played the first season of his career with an average of 30+ per game in the 2002-2003 season. After O'Neal left, Bryant proved himself to be one of the league's best scorers through two seasons of crazy performances.

Later, Kobe Bryant, whose playing style gradually became more mature, no longer pursued the ultimate scoring performance in the regular season, but the average points per game could still be stable at more than 25, and he also helped the team win another two-game championship, if it wasn't for the rupture of the Achilles tendon in the back, Kobe's state would have had a chance to continue for at least two more seasons, but in the end his NBA career was already perfect.

2. Durant (13 seasons)

Durant was only 19 years old when he entered the league, but the team took a fancy to his talent at that time, so he was given a lot of balls in his rookie season to "level up". And Durant did not live up to the team's hopes, starting from the second season of his career, he directly jumped to become one of the best scorers in the league, and he also won four scoring titles in the first seven seasons of his career, and he is still the most scoring champion among active players.

Later, the scoring pressure on Warriors Durant was much less, so his regular season statistics also declined, but everyone knows that his true strength is far from that. Later, Durant joined the Nets and Suns, but no matter where he is, when the team needs him to step up, he never pulls across. The 35-year-old Durant is still averaging 27.1 points per game this season, and with his current state, he only needs to think that he can continue to average more than 25 points per game in the next two seasons.

1. James (20 seasons)

Although in James's career, everyone has been complaining about his poor projection, low post ability, etc., but his scoring stability is the level of the first gear in history, from the second season of his career until now, his average points per game have never been less than 25 points, and he has been the only one in history who has averaged 25+ per game for 20 consecutive seasons.

Obviously James is a team-first player who always looks to create better opportunities for his teammates on the court, but when the team really needs a star to solve a problem, James is never worse than anyone else. In James' career over the past few years, he has played inside, point guard, and swingman, no matter what the team needs, he can meet it, and this kind of all-round look is also only possible in history.

But no matter how good James is in other areas, fans shouldn't overlook his scoring achievements, whether it's averaging more than 25 points per game in 20 seasons, the all-time scoring title, or all sorts of other accolades, which suggest that when you talk about the all-time leading scorer, he's worth joining the discussion.