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Despite being arguably the best basketball player in the world right now, many critics of LeBron James say that he does not stack up against the greats to ever play the game (e.g. Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant, Bill Russel, etc.). Others say that according to his current pace and performance through 12 seasons, he will be on par with the NBA legends by the time he retires. Scroll down to see which records LeBron is most likely to break by the time he retires!
10. Most Free Throws Made in Playoffs
Michael Jordan holds the record for free throws made in the playoffs with 1463 made. This number won’t increase since M.J. has retired, which makes it easier for the King to beat this feat. LeBron is currently at #4 all-time with 1226 free throws made, and he has definitely got at least 5 more good seasons in him. He will definitely play the rest of his career on competitive teams, which makes it likely that this record will be broken.
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9. Playoff Games Played
Derek Fisher, now the head coach of the New York Knicks, leads all NBA players present and past with 259 playoff games played. Although LeBron is only at 171 games played, he still has around 8 good seasons left in him. If that’s the case, and his teams do as well as they have in the past few years, LeBron will break Fisher’s record of playoff games played.
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8. Seasons Scoring 1000 or More Points
Similar to the previously mentioned record, Kareem Abdul Jabbar scored 1000 or more points in a NBA record 19 seasons. LeBron has scored at least 1000 points in each of his 12 seasons in the league thus far. It seems pretty likely that he’ll break this record, as he would only need to average around 12 ppg throughout a season for 7 more seasons.
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7. Most Playoff Points
Michael Jordan also holds the record of 5987 points in the playoffs, while LeBron is #6 all-time with 4782. Assuming that LeBron continues his scoring streak (27.9ppg this playoffs), he should have no problems breaking M.J.’s record by retirement.
You can find the sixth best record LeBron James could break by the time he retires on the next page
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6. Most Consecutive All-Star Game Selections
Kobe Bryant currently leads the NBA all-time with 17 All-Star game selections, although he has missed a few due to injury. LeBron has 10 selections thus far. Although LBJ’s play will not always get him an All-Star spot, he is both a fan and coach favorite, which makes it likely that LBJ will break Kobe’s record. What might complicate this is that Kobe could get selected to another All-Star game, or even two. If this is the case, the chances of LBJ catching up will be slim.
You can find the fifth best record LeBron James could break by the time he retires on the next page
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5. Most All-Star Games Started
Kobe holds the record for number of All-Star games started with 14, while LeBron has started 10. While this record is very atainable, it all hinges on LeBron’s performance. Regardless, it seems very likely that he will start at least another 4 games, as he is a fan favorite and is arguably the best player in the world right now.
You can find the fourth best record LeBron James could break by the time he retires on the next page
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4. Most Points All-Time All-Star Games
LeBron will definitely be breaking this record. Kobe holds the record for most points scored in All-Star games with 280 points. LeBron is at 278 points, so it is safe to say that LeBron will break this record by next year’s All-Star game.
You can find the third best record LeBron James could break by the time he retires on the next page
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3. Most Defensive Rebounds, Cleveland Cavaliers Team History
LeBron already holds most of the Cavaliers record, but there is one that he doesn’t hold. Yet. Brad Daugherty leads Cavs all-time with 4020 defensive rebounds, James is third with 3776 defensive rebounds, and Big Z is third with 3568 defensive boards. If LeBron remains a Cavalier for the rest of his career, he should definitely pass Daughtery.
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2. Seasons Scoring 2000 or More Points
As of now, LeBron has scored at least 2000 or more points in 9 of his 12 seasons in the league. Its pretty likely that he at least matches, if not surpass Karl Malone’s NBA record of 12 seasons with at least 2000 or more points. In order to do so, LeBron would need to play 3 healthy seasons scoring an average of 25PPG throughout the season. It’s doable, but this all hinges on LBJ’s health as he ages.
You can find the best record LeBron James could break by the time he retires on the next page
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1. Most All-NBA Team Selections
Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, and Kareem are tied for the number of All-NBA team selections, at 15 each. The All-NBA teams are selected by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters around the NBA. Considering that LBJ is finishing his 12th season and just received his 11th All-NBA selection, it seems very likely that he will be able to get at least 4 more All-NBA selections.