LeBron James career stats: Lakers star chasing 40,000-point milestone in potential 2023-24 season

In his 20th season, LeBron James becomes the NBA’s all-time scoring leader. In year 21, he will make more history.

When the 2023-24 NBA season begins, James will become the sixth player in NBA history to play 21 NBA seasons. Just a few months away from his 39th birthday, James is also the oldest player in the league, and he responded to that fact in a way that only he can.

Beyond the facts related to his longevity and age, James’ status as an All-NBA caliber talent means expectations for him will be high. If he lives up to those expectations, James will put up huge numbers, putting his all-time scoring total in a near-impossible spot.

It’s unclear how long James will be in the NBA, but his scoring will be worth watching in the 2023-24 season as he could potentially cross the 40,000-point plateau.

What other milestones can James reach in his 21st season? Here’s a look at what kind of history the Lakers star can make in the 2023-24 season.

More: LeBron James ranks among top 30 NBA players

Can LeBron James reach 40,000 career points in 2023-24?

LeBron James starts the 2023-24 season with 38,652 points, 1,348 points shy of 40,000 points.

James has scored at least 1,500 points every year of his career, except for the 2020-21 season, when he scored 1,126 points in 45 games. If not injured, James is expected to score over 40,000 points this season.

Here’s when James will reach his peak:

• If LeBron James averaged 25.0 points per game… He scored 1,348 points in approximately 54 games
• If LeBron James averaged 27.2 points per game (career average)… He scored 1,348 points in about 50 games
• If LeBron James averages 28.9 points per game (2022-23 season average)… He scored 1,348 points in approximately 47 games

Since joining the Lakers, James has played in 55.6 games per game, with the most being 67 games in the 2019-20 season.

LeBron James career assists

LeBron James started the season ranked fourth all-time with 10,420 assists. He trails only Chris Paul, Jason Kidd and John Stockton.

Paul is the only active player in the top three who leads James in career assists by more than 1,000, and James will likely remain in fourth place for the rest of his career. He is more than 1,500 assists behind Kidd and more than 5,000 assists behind Stockton.

The full list is here.

More: LeBron James MVP odds and best odds bets for 2023-24 season

LeBron James career rebounds

LeBron James started the season ranked 32nd all-time with 10,667 rebounds. He leads all active players, with DeAndre Jordan and Andre Drummond trailing behind.

James grabbed about 460 rebounds in each of the past two seasons. He is less than 200 rebounds behind Jake Sikma and less than 400 rebounds behind Bill Bridges, who ranks 30th.

If James can reach the rebounding level of recent years, he will enter the top 30 in total rebounds in history.

The full list is here.

LeBron James career appearances

LeBron James started the season with 1,421 games, ninth all-time in games played. He is the current leader and could move up to sixth all-time in the 2023-24 season.

Here is a list of the most played players in NBA history:

rank	player	game
1.	Robert Parrish	1,611
2.	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	1,560 people
3.	Vince Carter	1,541
4.	Dirk Nowitzki	1,522
5.	John Stockton	1,504 people
6.	Karl Malone	1,476
7.	Kevin Garnett	1,462
8.	Kevin Willis	1,424
9.	LeBron James	1,421
10.	Jason Terry	1,410

James entered the top ten in the 2022-23 season and surpassed Karl Malone for sixth place with 56 games. Even if James played all 82 games, he would still be one game behind Stockton.

James is 190 wins shy of Robert Parish, the all-time leader. James still needs three more seasons to join the all-time list.

The full list is here.