Although he is still playing in the league, it is very difficult to deny the fact that LeBron James will go down as an NBA legend and will be considered by many basketball fans to be the GOAT. As many of us should certainly be aware, King James is currently playing in Year 21 and is not showing much signs of slowing down.
Since LeBron has been performing at an elite level for more than two decades, he has accumulated a lengthy list of accomplishments and records. Moreover, the list is only going to continue to grow considering the fact that he still appears to be a few years away from retiring.
While many NBA fans in this generation will have no problem accepting LeBron’s greatness, the younger fans of the future will certainly want to know his most impressive records and accolades. After all, that will give them a ceiling of expectations when discussing future NBA stars. That said, let us take a closer look at the 10 LeBron records that are not expected to be broken for years to come.
LeBron James has carried his team to 10 NBA Finals in his career so far
Although LeBron James has only 4 NBA titles to his legacy so far, there is no denying that his 10 trips to the NBA Finals are something that is unlikely to be seen replicated by any other NBA star for a long time. After all, LeBron managed to make the Finals back in 2007 and managed to do so once again in 2020.
Even if it is possible for a player in the league to somehow make the NBA Finals 10 times in their career, it is highly unlikely for them to lead their teams each and every single time. This record is not expected to be broken any time soon.King James went to the NBA Finals 8 times in a row
While one might assume that it should be possible to make the NBA Finals a few times throughout a star’s career, LeBron dominated the Eastern Conference during his prime and managed to emerge as the Conference champion 8 straight times.
The first time was when King James joined the Miami Heat. Alongside Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, LeBron managed to carry the Heat to 4 straight NBA Finals appearances. The Heat lost their first Finals series to the Dallas Mavericks and their 4th to the San Antonio Spurs.
Fans who have been following the NBA for the past few decades will know that King James led his team to the NBA Finals every single year from 2011 to 2018.LeBron has led 3 different franchises to NBA championships
Although some Michael Jordan fans might claim that Jordan had a greater impact on the league since he won 6 titles, one could argue that LeBron had just as much an effect considering that he managed to win NBA titles with three different franchises throughout his career.
King James won 2 titles with the Heat in 2012 and 2013. He returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers and managed to lead the team to a title in 2016. More recently, LeBron was able to win an NBA championship while playing for the Los Angeles Lakers back in 2020. It is nearly impossible for any other future player to find this amount of success with three different franchises.The LeBron-led Cleveland Cavaliers are the only team to come back from 3-1 in the NBA Finals
While the entire 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers roster deserves a fair share of credit, there is no denying that they were able to make NBA history thanks to LeBron James. Fans will remember the iconic and memorable 2016 NBA Finals matchup between the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Warriors finished that season with an unreal record of 73 wins and 9 losses. They managed to get through the Western Conference with relative ease and soon had a 3-1 lead on LeBron in the NBA Finals.
Although they were just one game away from winning a championship, the Warriors were unable to prevent LeBron from leading his team to win 3 straight games and the title. One should wonder if any other star in the near future is able to pull off a similar feat on the world’s biggest basketball stage.King James’ scoring record
Out of all the records and accomplishments that have been mentioned, there is no denying that LeBron’s scoring record is far out of reach and will almost never be reached by any other NBA player. Advanced statistics trackers have revealed that King James has accumulated 39,201 points so far in his career. He surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to take the #1 position on the NBA’s all-time scorer’s list last season.
Fans might struggle to understand how hard it is to accumulate over 39,000 points in an NBA career. To put things into context, Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant is currently 35 years old and ranked 10th on the list with 27,481 points. Since both Durant and LeBron are in the twilight of their NBA careers, it is nearly impossible for Durant to surpass LeBron.Some of the other active players on this list include James Harden. The Beard is ranked 24th with 24,945 points. Russell Westbrook is ranked 36th and Stephen Curry is in the 34th position. If these veteran stars are still far behind LeBron, one should wonder how long a rookie should play at a high level in order to catch up to LeBron’s unknown finished scoring record.
LeBron James has accumulated almost 40,000 points, 10,000 rebounds, and 10,000 assists
Since LeBron is the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, some of the more unaware fans might assume that he is largely focused on scoring the ball and does not pay attention to the other aspects of basketball. However, those notions couldn’t be further from the truth.
King James is the only player in NBA history with almost 40,000 points and more than 10,000 rebounds and assists. Even if a player managed to come close to LeBron in terms of scoring, they are highly likely to be less accomplished in passing and rebounding.James has participated in 19 NBA all-star games and has 3 ASG MVPs
There have been quite a few NBA players such as Vince Carter and Dirk Nowitzki who have managed to play in the NBA for more than 20 seasons. However, what sets LeBron apart from them is the duration of his prime and dominance. Fans who have been watching the NBA All-Star games over the years will be aware that LeBron has participated in 19 games out of his 21-year career.
Moreover, he also managed to win the All-Star Game MVP trophy thrice in 2006, 2008, and 2018. King James did not make the all-star team for the first two years of his career. However, he has not missed a single all-star game since 2005.LeBron has made the All-NBA team 19 times and first-team 13 times in his career
The All NBA team awards are individual accolades that are awarded to stars in both conferences. Making the all-NBA first, second, or third team allows NBA stars to reach certain milestones and receive slightly larger contract extensions.
Although money has never really been a problem for LeBron ever since he entered the league, King James has made the All-NBA teams 19 times in his career. He made the first team 11 times in a row from 2008 to 2018. LeBron also made the first team in 2006 and 2020.
In all fairness, there were some years when other players were selected instead of LeBron. The Lakers star made the All-NBA second team in 2005, 2007, and 2021. James also made the NBA third team in 2019, 2022 and 2023.Even if it is possible for another player to make the All-NBA teams 19 times in their career, it is safe to say that none of them will be making the first team 11 times in a row.
LeBron has also won the Best NBA Player ESPY award
To those who do not know, the ESPYs are an award ceremony that shows due respect to sports personalities via awards such as the Best NBA Player award, Since these awards are given out every year, it wouldn’t make sense to claim that LeBron is setting some record by winning it.
However, King James has won the Best NBA Player ESPY award 7 times throughout his NBA career. Even if a few transcendental stars emerge in the future, it is highly unlikely for them to win this award 7 times.The King has played the most minutes in NBA history
If there is any testament to LeBron’s longevity and durability, it is the fact that he has played the most minutes in NBA history with 66,482 minutes of playing time across the regular season and postseason. Although he is slightly more injury-prone and has missed time over the past few years, we expect LeBron to put this record well out of reach before his career comes to an end.
Fans who managed to make it here might wonder which of these records current NBA stars or even future ones have a good chance at breaking. We look forward to finding out if any NBA player manages to come close to taking LeBron’s spot on any of the all-time lists and records.
Although this might look like a long list of records, it would be fair to say that there are several other accomplishments in LeBron’s career that have not been included here. Averaging more than 25 points per game in Year 21 alone could be considered a record. The same could be said about building a billion-dollar business empire while still playing in the league.
At the end of the day, all of LeBron James’ records and accomplishments are subjective in the eyes of fans. While some will be impressed with what he has accomplished and consider him the GOAT, others will point out other accolades held by Michael Jordan such as his being a 10x scoring leader.However, it is important to note that both LeBron and MJ have dominated the game of basketball in different ways. In any case, fans are left free to decide for themselves which of these records can potentially be broken in the near or distant future.
