LeBron James’ dominance on the court in this 2023-24 season is unlike anything we have seen from a player in their 21st season in NBA history. Robert Parish, Kevin Willis, Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki, and Vince Carter are the only other players to have played a 21st season, and James has scored more points than all of them combined.
Points in the 21st Season:
LeBron James: 1,675
Other 5 combined: 1,230
Games played in the 21st Season:
LeBron James: 66
Other 5 combined: 213
Minutes Played in the 21st Season:
LeBron James: 2,317
Other 5 combined: 3,130
That amounts to James scoring 445 more points while playing 147 fewer games and 813 fewer minutes, which is simply ridiculous. I often say that some still don’t quite understand just how incredible it is that the 39-year-old is performing at such a high level at this stage of his career.
LeBron is averaging 25.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, 8.1 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game this season for the Los Angeles Lakers. Prior to this, the most points per game a player had averaged in their 21st season came in 2018-19, when Carter averaged 7.4 points per game.
That gives some context to just how special LeBron’s season has been. Carter is also the only player to have played a 22nd season in the NBA, and he averaged 5.0 points, 2.1 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.4 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game in that campaign. You better believe LeBron’s numbers are going to blow Carter’s out of the water.
LeBron James Is Expected To Play For One Or Two More Years
While he has been playing at such a high level, LeBron admitted recently that his career is almost over. He added that he isn’t sure when it will end, but there isn’t much time left. NBA insider Shams Charania stated that the expectation is LeBron will retire in one or two more years with the goal of winning one more championship.
“Most people I talk to in the league around LeBron James, one or two more years is the expectation. But it’s obvious. Based on his comments, he’s at the end of the road. For players of LeBron James’ stature, it’s hard to come to grips with the realities of retirement. I spoke to Rich Paul today, and he told me, ‘It’s like landing a plane; you don’t just land right away when you’re 45 minutes out. When you descend, there’s a warning, a little bit of an announcement.’”
I think I can certainly see James playing two more seasons after this one. There have not been any clear signs of decline from him in 2023-24, and he has even gotten better in some regards. Unless he suffers a major injury of some sort, he should be able to carry on.
As for wanting to win a championship, it remains to be seen if that would be possible while he’s playing for the Lakers. They have shown some signs of life recently, with seven wins in the last eight games, but I still don’t think they have what it takes to win it all this season.
LeBron has a player option for the 2024-25 season and has not committed his future to the Lakers just yet. He has kept his options open, and it will be interesting to see what he decides to do in this upcoming offseason.
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