To put it simply—no. No one in the NBA has any chance of catching LeBron James. But just leaving it there doesn’t make for a compelling article. James’ scoring figure of 41,924 points (and counting) is towering, but what is it that makes it unattainable—even in the modern scoring friendly environment?
James came to the NBA directly out of high school, giving him a one year head start on all other active players. And not only was he a starter, but the main option on a Cleveland Cavaliers team in desperate need for his scoring (second to last in offense in 2003). Only missing three games in his rookie campaign, and with an average of 20.9 points per game, James recorded 1,654 points—not amongst the best in NBA history, but good for an 18-year old.
For comparison, Brandon Ingram was also 18 when drafted, and also played 79 games his rookie year, but only amassed 740 points—less than half of James.
What really separates James from other prolific scorers is how quickly he built his scoring volume in spite of his age.
After his rookie season, and up until leaving for the Miami Heat, James played in 95.3 percent of all games and averaged a blistering 29 points per game. Over those six years, he amassed 13,597 points.
In comparison, over the last six calendar years from March 17, 2019, the player with the most points is Giannis Antetokounmpo—with 11,691 points. The difference of 1,906 points is a full season of scoring.
If Antetokounmpo replicated his second MVP season in 2020 where he averaged 29.5 points per game in 63 games, he would finish with 1,857 points—still short of the difference.
And this is comparing age 20-25 year old LeBron to age 25-30 Giannis. Compared at the same ages, the difference is even more pronounced. From ages 20-25, Antetokounmpo 10,077 points—3,520 points fewer than James.
Other players with seemingly prolific starts also do not compare. James’ Laker teammate Luka Doncic boasts a higher career average per game (28.6 versus 27.0 for James), but falls short due to LeBron’s ironman ability to never miss a contest.
Over Doncic’s first six years in the league, he has never played more than 72 games in a season and has amassed 11,470 points—again, over a season’s worth of points difference from James’ age 20-25 seasons.
Even the NBA’s current king of scoring, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, does not compare. Averaging 30 points per game for the third straight year does well for his career total, but over the long term, it’s about sustaining that excellence without injury.
Gilgeous-Alexander was not the sole offensive engine his rookie year with the Clippers, and played in 35 games in 2021 due to a tear in his plantar fascia, leaving his total over the last six years at 10,273 points—again a season and a half behind James.
Just one season with premature injury is enough to derail someone’s hopes of ever catching James’ scoring total.
Every NBA player ages, but James has done so better than anyone else. Since turning 35 in 2019, James has amassed 8,577 points.
He has done so in 320 games, making his per game average of 26.8 just 0.2 points below his career average.
Since turning 35, elder LeBron ranks fourteenth in the entire NBA in point total—above other esteemed scorers like Joel Embiid (8,003), Jalen Brunson (7,799), James Harden (7,494), and Kevin Durant (7,447).
Not only did James outpace his contemporaries during his prime years, but he’s also keeping pace with players a whole generation after his prime. In order for someone to catch him they would either have to:
Nobody has the combination of productivity, consistency, and longevity of LeBron James. His scoring record figures to be one that outlasts Kareem’s reign of 38 years—and perhaps even for as long as professional basketball exists.
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