LeBron James has further solidified his status as a Los Angeles Lakers legend by becoming just the 13th player ever to score over 10,000 points for the franchise, James accomplished that feat in the game against the Sacramento Kings on Thursday and is the fourth-fastest to get there.
Lakers’ 10,000-Point Club:
1. Kobe Bryant – 33,643 points
2. Jerry West – 25,192 points
3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – 24,176 points
4. Elgin Baylor – 23,149 points
5. Magic Johnson – 17,707 points
6. James Worthy – 16,320 points
7. Shaquille O’Neal – 13,895 points
8. Gail Goodrich – 13,044 points
9. Byron Scott – 12,780 points
10. Jamaal Wilkes – 10,601 points
11. George Mikan – 10,156 points
12. Vern Mikkelsen – 10,063 points
13. LeBron James – 10,034 points
It is quite incredible that James is that high on the Lakers’ scoring list despite being in just his seventh season with the franchise and he will get into the top 10 in this campaign itself. The absolute highest the 20-time All-Star can get to before the end of his career is probably seventh, but eighth/ninth is a bit more realistic if we assume next season will be his last.
From a scoring standpoint, we have seen a bit of a dip from James this season. The 39-year-old is averaging 23.0 points, 7.9 rebounds, 8.9 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game for the Lakers in 2024-25.
James only averaged fewer points per game in a campaign in his rookie season and his scoring numbers are likely to keep dipping just a little bit moving forward and that will, in all likelihood, stop him from surpassing Shaquille O’Neal.
Austin Reaves Believes LeBron James Deserves A Statue Outside The Lakers’ Arena
The Lakers have honored a total of seven franchise icons with statues outside their arena over the years and there has been a lot of debate on whether James should eventually get one too. Well, Austin Reaves certainly believes LeBron deserves a statue.
“Yeah, why not,” Reaves said. “You know, he came to L.A. at a time when they weren’t having much success and what was it, two, three years, he put a banner in the rafters? So, why not?”
“I mean, in my opinion, he’s the greatest player to ever play the game,” Reaves stated. “You can argue it for sure, I mean, because there have been some really good players, but I’ve always said that you could name the best person at everything, scoring, rebounding, and you could argue that Bron can compete at the top in all those categories. So yeah, why not?”
James won a title for the Lakers in 2020 and became the NBA’s all-time leading scorer while playing for the franchise. That might be enough to get a statue but he can guarantee himself one if he wins another title. That doesn’t seem very likely at the moment, however.
The Lakers have a 16-12 record in the 2024-25 season and do not look like serious title contenders. The only way that changes is if they make some moves and it will be interesting to see who they can bring in before the trade deadline. For the here and now, the Lakers’ focus will be on the next game against the Detroit Pistons at Crypto.com Arena on Monday at 10:30 PM ET.
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