LeBron James, since being selected by the Cavaliers in 03, can divide his entire career into four stages: the Cavaliers 1.0 period from 03-10 with 7 seasons, the Heat period from 10-14 with 4 seasons, the Cavaliers 2.0 period from 14-18 with 4 seasons, and the Lakers period from 18-24 with this season marking the start of his 7th season! As a typical example of reaching peak performance right from his debut, even in his 22nd season, he still manages to average 24 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 8.9 assists with shooting percentages of 50/38/76%! He has already set a series of NBA historical records, and as long as he continues to play one more game, he will extend the longest record in NBA history. In our impression, James has always been known for his versatility, but we often overlook his scoring ability!
During the Cavaliers 1.0 period, he was selected by the Cavaliers with the status of a prodigy, averaging 39.5 minutes per game in his rookie season with 20.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 5.9 assists, which is also the lowest scoring average of his career. By the second season, his average stats skyrocketed to 27.2 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 7.2 assists, with all stats significantly improving as the Cavaliers returned to the playoffs. In the following five seasons, he delivered averages of 31.4 points, 7 rebounds, and 6.6 assists; 27.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 6 assists; 30 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 7.2 assists; 28.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 7.2 assists; and 29.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 7.2 assists! During these seven years, James won 2 MVPs (consecutive), 1 scoring title, 1 Rookie of the Year, 2 first-team selections, 2 second-team selections, 2 All-Defensive First Team honors, and led the team to the Finals once. In that era of fierce competition, no one looked down upon such a star!
Due to the obstacle of the Celtics and Howard guarding the East at that time, James believed that he could not see a chance to win a championship with the Cavaliers, leading to the famous televised Decision 1! After joining the Heat, James' personal stats declined somewhat in his first season, averaging 26.7 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 7 assists due to the diluted ball distribution in the Big Three lineup. That year, the historically strong Big Three lineup was defeated by single-core Nowitzki, becoming one of the biggest stains on his career. In the following three seasons, James scored 27.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 6.2 assists; 26.8 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 7.3 assists; and 27.1 points, 7 rebounds, and 6.3 assists. James played more comfortably after regaining control of the ball, with Wade and Bosh willing to make sacrifices for the championship, which allowed them to win 2 championships! In the four years with the Heat, James won 2 MVPs, 2 championships, 2 FMVPs, 4 All-NBA selections, 4 All-Star appearances, and 4 All-Defensive selections! These were the peak years of his career in terms of personal honors!
With the aging of Wade and Bosh, coupled with Leonard's rise, James chose to return to the Cavaliers to play "home basketball" once again! Choosing to leave when faced with difficulties, James became the target of public criticism once again! In their first season back with the Cavaliers, they met the Splash Brothers at the peak in the Finals, and the next four years of the league were dominated by these two teams, meeting each other in the Finals for four consecutive seasons! Personally, in the four seasons back with the Cavaliers, James averaged 25.3 points, 6 rebounds, and 7.4 assists; 25.3 points, 7.5 assists, and 6.8 rebounds; 26.4 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 8.7 assists; and 27.5 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 9.1 assists. The Cavaliers vs. Warriors battles became the hottest basketball topic of that era! During these four years, the Cavaliers were firmly ruled by the Warriors in the Finals with a 3-1 record, while James personally achieved 1 championship, 1 FMVP, 4 All-Star selections, 4 All-NBA selections, and 1 All-Star MVP!
With Irving's growth, he was unwilling to live under James' shadow. Due to James' massive popularity, winning was attributed solely to James, while losing was blamed on teammates, a situation Irving could no longer tolerate. James himself also suggested trading him for Paul George, and with Irving's straightforward personality, he definitely couldn't stand it and chose to leave. Coupled with Love's obvious decline in strength, there was no hope left in staying with the Cavaliers. Ultimately, James chose to move west to join the City of Angels! This season marks his seventh with the Lakers, and in the past six seasons, he has averaged 27.4 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 8.3 assists; 25.3 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 10.2 assists; 25 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 7.8 assists; 30.3 points and 8.2 assists; 28.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 6.8 assists; and 25.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 8.3 assists! During this period, he achieved 1 championship, 1 FMVP, 1 mid-season championship, 1 mid-season MVP, 6 All-Star selections, and 6 All-NBA selections!
We clearly find that except for his rookie season, James' scoring average has never been below 25 points in the past 21 seasons, and in NBA history, no player has ever managed to average over 25 points for 20 consecutive seasons!
As we enter the 24-25 season, we all thought that James would inevitably experience a significant decline this season, and his offensive state could not possibly continue indefinitely! In the early games of this season, the Lakers played well, and James intentionally reduced his shots. In the season opener, he only took 16 shots for 16 points, and in the second game, he only took 13 shots for 21 points. At this stage, the Lakers played cutting and passing basketball, with each player able to play in their position, starting with a 3-game winning streak that briefly put them atop the Western Conference! In subsequent games, James repeatedly scored below 20 points, with his personal scoring average hovering around 20-22 points! On November 24, when the Lakers faced the Nuggets, the familiar plot unfolded again. In the first half, the Nuggets played casually and even trailed the Lakers at one point, but they turned things around in the second half and swept away the Lakers! Starting from this game, James scored below 20 points in four consecutive games, causing his personal scoring average to drop to 20 points! If this trend continued, his record of scoring above 25 points for 20 consecutive seasons would certainly be broken!
However, we greatly underestimated James' dedication to his personal stats. On December 5, in the game against the Heat, the Lakers were already beaten by the Heat, but James remained on the court and eventually scored a luxurious 29 points, 5 rebounds, and 8 assists, despite the Lakers losing by a whopping 41 points! On December 7, in the game against the Hawks, James descended like a god, scoring an insane 39 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists, but unfortunately, the team was defeated by Trae Young's three-pointer at the buzzer. After this game, James chose to rest for 8 days. On December 22, in the game against the Kings, James scored another 32 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists, helping the team achieve a double victory over the Kings in consecutive games. On January 3, in the game against the Trail Blazers, James performed again, going 15 for 25 and scoring 38 points, 3 rebounds, and 8 assists to lead the team to victory over the Trail Blazers! With these consecutive high-scoring performances of 39 points, 38 points, and 32 points, his personal scoring average has been raised from around 20 to the current 24 points, just 1 point away from 25!
Based on James' playing style, it is very likely that he will raise his personal stats to an average of 25 points in the upcoming games, and the legendary record of averaging 25+ points for 20 consecutive seasons is about to be reclaimed by James! It must be said that James is truly the longest river in the NBA!