LeBron James Closes In on Scoring Record With Triple-Double

And even at age 38, he is clearly nowhere near done. He will surpass the points record soon. But might he go on to obliterate it?

Honestly, it is probably up to him. He would still be a valuable player for any team in the league and could be for several more years at least. He may decide to hang up his sneakers at or near the top of his game. But if he chooses to stick around for late-career play a bit below his best, as Jordan did with Washington, for example, he could put the points record far out of sight.

Abdul-Jabbar played full time through age 41. His averages for his final four years were 23, 18, 15 and 10 points a game. A similar falloff for James from his average of 30 might have him averaging 25, 22 and 17 the next three years.

Because of some injuries over the last three seasons, James has appeared in roughly 70 percent of his team’s games. If that holds, he would average 57 games a season. Using those estimates, he would add more than 3,500 more points to his already formidable total and wind up with perhaps 42,000 points. “I’m going to be in this league at least a few more years,” he said on Tuesday.

And those estimates are fairly conservative. His scoring might not fall off as quickly as Abdul-Jabbar’s did. He may be able to play more than 57 games a season. And he may decide to play more than three more years. James could well wind up with a total that will take something superhuman to surpass.

Certainly he showed few concessions to age on Tuesday night, whether hitting a 3, driving the lane or making a layup with 20 seconds left in overtime to seal the win. He played a team-high 43 minutes, and he ranks ninth this season in the league in minutes per game, hardly the sign of a player slowing down anytime soon.

James will be the first to say that winning games matters more than individual statistics. While he has won four titles, most recently in 2020, this season the Lakers are on the outside of the playoffs. While he will be lauded when he does break the record, his primary focus is on turning his team around.