Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James continues to break records and make history with each game. Very few players have lasted more than two decades in the NBA, and none have put up the kind of numbers James is averaging this season.
At 40 years old, James has redefined longevity in the league. On March 4 against the New Orleans Pelicans, he became the first player in NBA history to reach 50,000 career points. Already the league’s all-time leading scorer, James is closing in on a few more records in the coming weeks.
3 Records LeBron James Has Yet To Break
James has built a comfortable lead as the all-time scoring leader, sitting nearly 6,000 points ahead of second-place Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Yet, he sits just 13 games behind Abdul-Jabbar (1,560) for the second-most regular-season games played in NBA history, a mark he is likely to surpass soon.
The all-time record for most regular-season games played belongs to Boston Celtics legend and Hall of Famer Robert Parish, who played 1,611 games. If James plays one or two more seasons and stays healthy, he’ll likely add that record to his résumé.
The four-time NBA champion is also chasing another Abdul-Jabbar record — most points scored after turning 40. The Lakers great put up 1,941 points after his 40th birthday, while James was averaging 26.1 points on 54.1% shooting (42.3% from 3), along with 8.2 rebounds and 8.1 assists per game before the March 4 matchup with the Pelicans.
James’ post-40 numbers are similar to his stats during the 2012-13 MVP season with the Miami Heat. As a result, many analysts believe he deserves consideration in this season’s MVP race, currently led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokić.
Kendrick Perkins Names James Top-3 Candidate for 2025 MVP
Former NBA champion Kendrick Perkins listed James among his top-three MVP candidates during an appearance on ESPN’s “Get Up,” warning fans not to count out the league’s all-time scoring leader.
“You have SGA, you have Jokić, and then you have LeBron James as my top-three MVP candidates,” Perkins said. “We will not sleep on LeBron James.”
Perkins even argued that James, not Jokić, is the best player in the NBA right now.
“Are we sure that Nikola Jokić is the best player in the league?… I would have to say right now, today, that LeBron James is the best player in the NBA… LeBron James is getting it done at the age of 40 on both ends of the floor,” Perkins said on ESPN.
"Are we sure that Nikola Jokic is the best player in the league? … I would have to say right now today that LeBron James is the best player in the NBA… LeBron James is getting it done at the age of 40 on both ends of the floor."
—Kendrick Perkinspic.twitter.com/SY8V2dtPOu
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 4, 2025
Still, Jokić’s numbers this season are hard to ignore. The Serbian star is averaging 28.9 points, 12.7 rebounds, and 10.4 assists per game. In comparison, James is averaging 24.8 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists.