Getty LeBron James
In case you haven’t heard, LeBron James had a 44-point night last night and passed Wilt Chamberlain on the NBA All-Time scoring list.
The scoring elite in NBA history has a new member.
@KingJames passes Wilt for 5th all-time.
Chamberlain now sits at No. 6 with 31,419 points, and LeBron finished the night having made it to 31,425. He now sits below a name you might recognize: Michael Jordan.
Barring some kind of catastrophic injury or absence, James is a shoo-in to pass MJ on the list before season’s end–probably long before the 2019 playoffs, even. Let’s break down just when exactly we can expect LeBron to meet the next milestone and supplant his rival in the “GOAT” debate.
LeBron’s Averages Put Him on Pace to Pass MJ by January
GettyMichael Jordan holds the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player trophy and former Chicago Bulls head coach Phil Jackson holds the NBA champions Larry O’Brian trophy after winning game six of the NBA Finals with the Utah Jazz.
The most fascinating thing about LeBron–and what, for many, puts him ahead of Jordan in the GOAT debate–is that even in his 16th season he has shown no signs of slowing down.
It’s worth mentioning that contemporaries like Dwayne Wade and Carmelo Anthony, stellar as they still are, are noticeably and admittedly in the twilights of their careers. Not LeBron James. He’s still leading teams to playoff appearances they wouldn’t otherwise be in (look at the Cavaliers right now. LeBron took them to The Finals) and is as far from a has-been as one can be.
He’s averaged 27.2 points in his career, but he’s exceeding that in his 16th season by averaging 27.6 so far with the Lakers. That’s wild.
James only needs 876 points to surpass MJ, which is more than doable before season’s end. And considering his season average, it’ll only take him about 31 more games to do so.
The Bulls or Thunder are Likely to Fall Victim to James’s Next Milestone
LeBron is a juggernaut who usually avoids injury or absence, so assuming he’ll be on the floor for each of those 31.8 games, he’s on pace to surpass MJ either against the Chicago Bulls on January 15th or against the Thunder a few days later on January 17th. That’s soon.
But with a few more 44-point games, it could be even sooner.
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