LeBron James turns 40: What does he still have to gain?
Lakers legend LeBron James still has milestones to achieve as he reaches his fourth decade of life.
LeBron James turns 40 and does so as the undisputed benchmark of Los Angeles Lakersthis season especially because the election of the new coach, JJ Redick was linked to his figure (they shared a podcast) and due to the presence of his son, Bronnyselected by the franchise in the last Draft.
However, the start of the campaign has been complicated for Los Angeles, which is fighting to avoid falling into the play-in positions in the Western Conference, with number 23 leading the team in minutes and assists, while the rest of the statistics are left to Anthony Davis.
All with the goal of reaching the playoffs and seeking a new title to add to an impressive record that includes four NBA championships, four Most Valuable Player trophies, NBA Cup champion, 20-time All-Star Game selection, Rookie of the Year, points leader in League history and winner of three Olympic gold medals, the most recent in August in Paris.
For this reason, doubt arises about LeBron’s motivation to remain active, beyond fulfilling the dream of sharing with Bronny and a few days ago in a talk with Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry For AM850 he commented that it was for the “love of the sport”, but he pointed out that it is the motivation to continue being successful.
What are the challenges that one of the best of all time still has at 40 and when there are so many young people on the rise? Although it may seem incredible, there are goals to meet and time is beginning to be another of its rivals.
Achieve a fifth title
LeBron’s trajectory changed when he signed with the Miami Heat in 2010, beyond the soap opera generated around his decision, when he joined Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh He got what he needed to get into the conversation as one of the greatest: an NBA ring.
The two consecutive Finals won with those from Florida cemented his legacy and then he decided to return to Cleveland to change an entire tradition of failures and together with Kyrie Irving giving the Cavaliers the scepter in 2016, establishing himself as the greatest legend in sports in the city.
But he still needed to return the shine to a renowned organization and he did it unexpectedly with the Lakers, in 2020 in a campaign altered by the Covid-19 pandemic and with the playoffs played in the bubble, there he added his fourth crown and He did it with a third different squad.
The brand of Bill Russell 11 titles seems impossible for James and even Michael Jordan’s six looks like a difficult mountain to climb in an Association that has not seen a two-time champion since the Warriors of 2017 and 2018, but what the King could still achieve is join Kobe Bryant with five.
The list of players with that many rings is long and includes Magic Johnson, Dennis Rodman, Steve Kerr and Tim Duncanbut no one shines brighter than Kobe, LeBron’s friend and idol, whom he has succeeded as the Lakers’ benchmark.
Getting that fifth parade, also in a normal campaign, with playoff games at home and away, would further elevate LeBron’s status, which he would do at 40 and would return the institution to number one in the NBA along with the Celtics , which in June took off with 18, compared to 17 in Los Angeles.
However, in a scenario that today seems unlikely, James could even do it in another squad, repeat the script of 2010 and join with other talents, for example, in Golden State with Curry and coach Kerr, with whom he won gold in Paris to have one last celebration before retirement.
But LeBron’s commitment is to the Los Angeles franchise, for his bond with Redick, for the presence of Bronny and for a two-year, $101.4 million dollar contract, which allows him to leave next summer, if he believes that the leadership does not do enough to reopen the display cases.
Individual brands
In recent years, LeBron held two relevant records in the history of the League, points scored and minutes, both of which were broken by Kareem Abdul-Jabbaras a sign of his longevity, but also of his ability to always perform at 100 percent.
However, on his horizon he still has two others that would add shine to his already impressive resume, the first is the number of games played, the leader is Robert Parish with 1,611, followed by Kareem with 1,560 and LeBron has 1,520; Therefore, he is 92 away from being number one on the table.
As this statistic only takes into account the regular phase games, number 23 will not be able to do so in this calendar, which has 51 duels left (at least for the Lakers), so it will have to wait for the next season. Enough motivation to stay active and celebrate that milestone around the 2026 All-Star (at the home of the LA Clippers).
Another record he is pursuing is that of field goals scored, in which the leader is Abdul-Jabbar with 15,837 and James is the only other to have more than 15 thousand, with 749 less, so he could reach it until 2025-26 .
In the last six seasons, LeBron has averaged just under 600 made field goals and so far in 2024-25 he has registered 251. If he keeps the pace he could finish this regular phase with around 15,430 to be about 400 away from snatching the lead from the Lakers legend.
To put the importance of this data into perspective, Kevin Durant has just entered the Top-15 by surpassing Carmelo Anthony, who had 10,119 and is now chasing Tim Duncan, in 14th place, who closed his career with 10,285; a feat for LeBron, beyond being an NBA in which there are many more shots.
12 thousand assists
In recent years, James has also become a ball mover, with the Lakers he has even acted in that position despite his size and the best example was that he finished 2019-20 as the leader in assists in the League, with 10.2 every night, above Trae Young (9.3) and Luka Doncic and Ricky Rubio (8.8).
Last year he averaged 8.3 to be fifth, behind Tyrese Haliburton (10.9), Doncic (9.8), Nikola Jokic (9.0) and James Harden (8.5), a sign of the maturity and especially the IQ for which Curry praises him, because LeBron reads basketball like few others and knows which of his teammates is free to shoot.
The King could become only the fourth player in history to surpass 12,000 assists, a table headed by ball movers par excellence, with John Stockton with 15,806, Chris Paul with 12,149 and counting, and Jason Kidd with 12,091, a club exclusive.
But behind them appears James, who with 11,261 has already surpassed other great point guards such as Steve Nash, Mark Jackson and Magic Johnson, but his goal is to reach the next step and to achieve this he needs 739 touchdown passes.
This campaign he averages nine per game and would need about 82 games to reach 12,000; that is, a complete regular season, so like the leadership in games and field goals made, he could achieve this milestone at some point in 2025-26, if the injuries respect him and he decides to remain active.
These four feats could maintain the motivation of a 40-year-old who aspires to win another title with the Lakers with his son (or somewhere else) and that each duel adds minutes, points and assists to climb in statistics in which he is already alone or chase great legends who are at his level.
