Will LeBron James Score 40,000 Points?
LeBron James recently passed the 10,000 point mark, becoming the youngest player in NBA history to reach this milestone. Couple that with the fact he became the ninth fastest player to get to those 10,000 career points and we can start looking ahead to the end of James’ career when he retires with an NBA-record 40,000+ points.
There’s no doubt about it in my mind that James is our generation’s Wilt Chamberlain. He is the most gifted athlete I’ve ever seen in the NBA and that’s probably true for people who watched Chamberlain play. I’ve only seen highlight footage of Chamberlain, but I’ve read one of his books and I know that he was a track star in high school (he excelled at high jump, if I remember correctly, and also did set records in shot put), and played professional volleyball after his NBA career ended. James is that type of guy, too. He might be the fastest player in the NBA. There aren’t more than a handful of guys who could out-jump him. Outside of Dwight Howard, is there a stronger player in the NBA? We’re not just talking about special here. We’re talking about gifted, chosen, possibly better than…well, you-know-who.
Now, I understand that there are many “what-ifs” that have to be taken into account. Injuries have to be the top concern, by a mile. However, I think the next key factor is his style of play. The road to 40,000 points is not paved with slashing drives and vaulting dunks. It’s paved with smarts, wits and crafty play. James won’t be the same player at 36 as he is at 23, simply because he’ll be nearing his 20th season in the NBA by then and wear-and-tear will have gotten the better of his athleticism. But he’s only 23-years old. He’s still (amazingly) learning the game. He hasn’t figured it all out yet. He still has championships to win and consecutive MVPs to earn. Give him time to develop a post-up game. Give him time to develop the mid-range jumper. His opponents hope you give him all the time in the world because they’re not looking forward to a time when he decides to include those tools in his toolkit.
Forty thousand points. It’s almost unfathomable, but James is virtually the only player who can do it. Why? First, because he came straight out of high school ready to dominate the NBA and players can’t come out of high school anymore. Second, because he’s going to score almost 30 ppg for the next decade and a half, just like Karl Malone did (only the Mailman got about 26 ppg, not 30). And finally, because nobody else in the NBA outside of Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal and Allen Iverson are even sniffing 30,000!
If it took James his first five NBA seasons to get 10,000, just imagine how easy it will be for him to reach 20,000.
Photo Credit: ICON SMI
Comments
By Roshon Morris on May 9th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
Look I understand that u love the king and all and I am a big fan of him to but he is not the fastest nor is he the most dominant player in the game today. He is the most althetic player in the game outside of Dwight Howard but don’t let a 23 year okd think that he will ever become the lights of a Kobe Bryant or a Micheal Jordan. Remember he wears his number because he want to be like Mike not better. The only person that can even come close to ever being Micheal Jordan is Kobe Bryant himself. So before you crown James the King, he have to outdo the guythat’s been doing it over a decade!
By amone on May 27th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
l.james best player alive
By D-boy Jordan on September 5th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
lebron is the best ever .. he the man…………
By Steve on September 15th, 2008 at 3:34 pm
Yes, lebron is the most dominant player in the league. He plays for the cavs. the cavs were the worst team in the league when they didnt have him. His first season he averaged 30+ points, at only what 18/19 years old. Ive seen this man train and it is impossible to do his jump workouts, and his weightlifting routines. The cavs on the other hand, Lebron comes to the team and they make a run at the playoffs with almost the same team they had the year before. His first five seasons, they made the playoffs more times in the past five years, then they have in the life of the cavs. JK. But after playing against lebron in highschool, there is nobody that can stop this man, everyone has bad nights, even on one of his bad nights he still score more than 20 points and gets more that 10 rebounds.
By Trevor on November 9th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
LeBron will become the GOAT once its all said and done he is absolutely amazing. To the kobe fans you all have to realize that LeBron is not that far off from kobe the only thing, i repeat the only thing sepearting the two is LeBron’s mid-range and 3-pint shooting. Also his free throw shooting and his decision making in the clutch. Give him a couple of years he will be the best in the league with kobe included or not