LeBron James once said it was chasing the ghost of Michael Jordan.
He may not reach Jordan’s six rings, but with the trajectory James’ career has taken, he will surpass Michael in many career milestones by the time he hangs up his Nike shoes.
Entering year 19 in the league, it stands to reason that a player of James’ caliber will surpass more than a few career milestones. Although he has spent more time off the court than he has so far this season, the King will still lose enough numbers to move up the ranks in some categories.
James has often said that he won’t look in the rearview mirror until all is said and done, but that won’t stop us from taking a look at where the all-time Lakers forward ranks.
NBA League Pass: Sign up to unlock games outside the live market (7-day free trial)
Where does LeBron James rank in the all-time scoring?
Ironically, for a guy who isn’t considered a “scorer,” James is fast closing in on Karl Malone as number two on the all-time list.
James has a career scoring average of about 27.0 points per game. In the 2021-22 season, he is averaging just one touch below that career mark at 25.8 points per game. Assuming James stays healthy enough to play long enough, he should outplay the Mailman by around 30 games.
If he maintains his 25-point scoring average, he will become the NBA’s all-time leader in points in about 106 more games.
Rank | Player | Points |
one | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 38,387 |
two | karl malone | 36,928 |
3 | Lebron James | 36,170 |
4 | Kobe bryant | 33,643 |
5 | Michael Jordan | 32,292 |
Where does LeBron James rank in all-time assists?
James’ vision of the court has been one of his strengths throughout his career.
His disinterest in trying to make the right play happen has served him well for 19 seasons. James has a career average of 7.4 assists per game and is averaging (again) just a fraction below that this season at 6.8 per game. This is a category where the King will not rule, it seems that John Stockton will hold this title for all eternity, but James will rise higher than his current eighth place on the list.
As of January 8, 2022, James needs eight assists to get past The Big O, Oscar Robertson. Then there’s the 10,000 assists milestone in his career.
Rank | Player | assists |
one | John Stockton | 15,806 |
two | jason kidd | 12,091 |
3 | cris paul | 10,658 |
4 | steve nash | 10,335 |
5 | mark jackson | 10,334 |
6 | magic johnson | 10,141 |
7 | oscar robertson | 9,887 |
8 | Lebron James | 9,881 |
Where does LeBron James rank in all-time rebounds?
This is a category where James will not finish in the top 10 when his career ends.
James currently has 9,958 career total rebounds to his name, ranking 42nd all-time. He needs just 42 to break 10,000, which he should hit in the next nine games if he continues at his current rate of 5.2 rebounds per game. Current Lakers teammate Dwight Howard is ranked 11th on the all-time list – he has 14,435 rebounds by comparison.
James recently joined the ranking of the top 10 in steals of all time.
James has a career steal rate of 1.6 per game. In reality, he’s averaging 1.8 steals per game so far in 2021-22, his highest level since the 2011-12 season. In all likelihood, he will move to ninth place of all time at the end of the season.
Rank | Player | steal |
one | John Stockton | 3,265 |
two | jason kidd | 2,684 |
3 | Michael Jordan | 2,514 |
4 | gary payton | 2,445 |
5 | cris paul | 2,404 |
6 | maurice cheeks | 2,310 |
7 | scottie pippen | 2,307 |
8 | Clyde drexler | 2,207 |
9 | Hakeem Olajuwon | 2,162 |
10 | Lebron James | 2,113 |
Where does the all-time LeBron James rank in 3-point field goals?
The triple is another criticism James had of his game early in his career, but as the league adapted to a new style of play, so did its best player.
James currently ranks fourth among active players and eleventh all-time. He only needs 84 more to climb to 10th place.
James is currently averaging 7.9 3-point attempts per game (his career high) and is hitting 2.9 per game (also his career high), so it’s not unreasonable to expect him to beat Paul Pierce in the ninth. place on this list for when the time comes. The 2021-22 season is over.
Rank | Player | 3-point field goals |
one | Ray allen | 3,012 |
two | Stephen Curry | 2,940 |
3 | reggie miller | 2,560 |
4 | james harden | 2,523 |
5 | kyle korver | 2,450 |
6 | vince carter | 2,290 |
7 | jason terry | 2,282 |
8 | Jamal crawford | 2,221 |
9 | Damien Lillard | 2,143 |
Paul pierce | 2,143 | |
eleven | Lebron James | 2,060 |