LeBron has now scored more points than anyone in NBA history

[HMFFL]

Not bad for a guy that people don’t really consider to be a ‘scorer.’

He improved his shooting skills so much since being drafted. I have to give him credit for that.

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[KembaWalker]

All time great stat accumulator
He was even a really good basketball player

Solid top 5-10 all time claim with the career narrative.

Congrats Bron!

[70sFan]

GOAT and it’s not even close.

MJ: 38,289 points scored in 1,072 games played @ 38.3 MPG = 0.93 points per minute.
Lebron: 44,157 points scored in 1,350 games played @ 38.2 MPG = 0.85 points per minute.

In basketball, first there is Michael Jordan... then there is everyone else.

You numbers are way off:

MJ: 38279 points scored in 48485 minutes gives us 0.7895 points per minute.
LBJ: 44157 points scored in 62559 minutes gives us 0.7059 points per minute.

Jordan looks better, but not to the ridiculous degree you just showed.

KAJ: 44149 points scored in 66297 minutes gives us 0.6659 points per minute

[Myth]

because thats been the convention for decades. this is not even hating lebron you cant just change rules for him because now he is going to claim the goat.

I’ve been saying this as long as I have been aware that these career records are discussed primarily as regular season achievements. I don’t say this because of Lebron, because I actually don’t like Lebron and don’t consider him GOAT. I also assume it is convention because the NBA back in the day wanted to celebrate some individual (not sure which one). But everywhere else, we talk about “Playoffs are where it really matters,” so it is just a bit silly to me that career accumulated stats is the one place we seem to ignore this.

Because it's two separate segments of the season, with the amount of playoff games you play -- i.e. opportunities to pile up cumulative stats -- being hugely influenced by factors outside your control, including how good your teammates/coaches/front office are. Case example: Kobe Bryant is one of them more successful playoff players of all time, but in his two best individual seasons his team was bounced in the first round both times with a total of 12 games played. But every single player in the league has an opportunity to play an 82-game regular season, so it stands to reason that this is the standard.

They’re still points scored in your career if they are the playoffs. In every every aspect of how we compare and evaluate players, we reward winning. Not sure why this is different. It would be fine to still acknowledge regular season accomplishments, but it is weird to say it isn’t fair to the players that played well in the regular season but lost in the playoffs. Playoffs matter and they are part of their careers, so stats there should be celebrated more.

[Sofia]

Misses layups and free throws when it matters…

But hey he’s got the total record!

He’s the shining star on top of a pile of garbage, from the roster, through the front office all the way up to Jeanie.

Dr Buss would be spinning in his grave at the state of his Lakers.

[LAL1947]

GOAT and it’s not even close.

MJ: 38,289 points scored in 1,072 games played @ 38.3 MPG = 0.93 points per minute.
Lebron: 44,157 points scored in 1,350 games played @ 38.2 MPG = 0.85 points per minute.

In basketball, first there is Michael Jordan... then there is everyone else.

You numbers are way off:

MJ: 38279 points scored in 48485 minutes gives us 0.7895 points per minute.
LBJ: 44157 points scored in 62559 minutes gives us 0.7059 points per minute.

Jordan looks better, but not to the ridiculous degree you just showed.

KAJ: 44149 points scored in 66297 minutes gives us 0.6659 points per minute

Oops, in my hurry to reply, I only used the minutes for the regular season instead of adding minutes for the playoffs.

Your numbers are correct, however, they actually make Jordan look better than mine though!

0.93 - 0.85 = 0.08 / 0.85 = MJ scored 9.3% more per minute than Lebron, using mine.
0.79 - 0.71 = 0.08 / 0.71 = MJ scored 11.3% more per minute than Lebron, using yours.

The difference is now double-digits.

[Knightfall]

What a shock he's won the most games; he's played the most games in NBA history in the playoffs, too, due to massive playoff expansion compared to when Kareem et. all played their primes.

Yet, his actual winning percentage among all players in the playoffs is 19th all time.

https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/player-with-the-highest-winning-percentage-in-the-playoffs-min-100-games-played

Hard to win your first 7 seasons when you have the likes of Mo William's as your second best player.

understandable. how good was the east in that era though?

He made it out the east with that lineup quite a few times. Which is like a title itself considering it was mo freaking William's as the 2nd option.

[AussieCeltic]

Congrats to Lebron. I don’t think he’s the GOAT but I don’t know how people are saying this isn’t a great achievement.

[KyRo23]

The more people who come in every LeBron thread (not about him being the GOAT) and say he’s not the GOAT, kind of makes me believe he just might be the GOAT. Insecuritiesssssss

[Drakeem]

Congrats to Lebron. I don’t think he’s the GOAT but I don’t know how people are saying this isn’t a great achievement.

People are weird. Even if you don't like the guy, you have to acknowledge that what he's done is insane. I never thought I'd actually see him dethrone Kareem's record, and as long as he stays healthy he'll break the regular season record as well.

[LAL1947]

The more people who come in every LeBron thread (not about him being the GOAT) and say he’s not the GOAT, kind of makes me believe he just might be the GOAT. Insecuritiesssssss

[dynamic duo]

LeGOAT.

Don't all of you trip over yourselves while you rush to pay your respeks to the King.

The one thing I can never shake off: a 73 win team went crying to Durant to sign with them so they could beat lebron. That says so much about Lebron that a team who won 73 games knew it needed even more to beat him .

absolutely, 3 prime all-stars with the first unanimous mvp in curry who's team went 73-9 were so scared of lebron that they had to beg another prime mvp in durant to join them.

congrats to lebron.

[metafisical]

As a life long Raptors fan, I think he is the GOAT -- which is a very personal statement to make. Each of us has different categories and stats we use to make that judgement. Some of us also don't like to see our life-long childhood or even current 'heroes' being 'replaced'. The horse-and-buggy manufacturers and fans were not too impressed with the first mass-produced automobiles.

In any case, I'm just counting down the games where he breaks Malone's and then KAJ's regular season scoring record, as well as continually racking up the rebounds, assists, steals and blocks. Dude is a generational machine. He's done enough to cement himself as a GOAT, but he ain't done yet. More records to break.

[Joshyjess]

So, LeBron now has the most combined points n the history of the NBA, and that supposedly makes him the GOAT - Since he also has (by a large margin), the most turnovers in the history of the NBA wouldn't that make him the worst player to have ever played? Think about it, noboby has ever lost the ball more times than LeBron. That's pretty bad.

No one said this made him the GOAT, but it seems that you might think it gets him closer to it. You’re projecting some major insecurities

I am? Wow, I didn't realize that. Man, thanks for pointing that out.

[Marty McFly]

What LeBron has done has made me reassess the GOAT conversation and realize that there isn't one. Too many people move the goal posts respective of their favorite which is pretty corny.

this person is the GOAT because of this, That person is the GOAT because of that. they all have their merits.

[payton2kemp]

And Finals’ games?

Where does he rank?

But seriously, I am talking about NOW. Who cares if he is breaking scoring records when his team may not even make the playoffs.

Is that not the definition of empty stats??

He’s 19 years in. At this point the career stats are the only thing left to accomplish.

He's no Tom Brady

Its easy when you never have to play defense in your life.

[6ixSideSniper]

What LeBron has done has made me reassess the GOAT conversation and realize that there isn't one. Too many people move the goal posts respective of their favorite which is pretty corny.

this person is the GOAT because of this, That person is the GOAT because of that. they all have their merits.

It’s one of those things where you won’t convince either side to change their minds despite whatever points you bring up and say.

I know this very well, as great as Lebron is there’s nothing he or anyone can do at this point to convince me he’s the GOAT over Jordan, and if you feel the opposite than cool, you’re entitled to your opinion.

[OdomFan]

Stats is all this dude has now. It doesn't make him better than the guy who accomplished more as a leader in a lesser amount of time. Carry on though, it's hilarious that people are calling him goat. He's your favorite of all time and nothing more.

[old skool]

Kareem and Lebron are both all time greats, but you can't compare players across eras by looking at total stats.

For most of Kareem's career, only 8 NBA teams made the playoffs, and the 1st round was only best 2 of 3 games. Fewer potential games and fewer cupcake opponents, compared to today. Fewer games to win and tougher to have a good W-L record.

Kareem could not play in the NCAA until he was a sophomore and could not play in the NBA until his college class graduated, depriving him of 4 prime years. That also meant that Kareem played against teams of men, not an NBA with rosters full of college age kids.

When Kareem played, there was no 3-point basket. No surprise that players from the 3-point era score more total points than those from the 2-point era.

When Kareem played it was harder for star players to be on a contender just by switching teams. Players couldn't decide unilaterally to go to a team with All-Star team mates to enhance their individual and team records.

Neither player should be diminished, but neither should conclusions be drawn to crown one to be superior than the other by using stats that favor players from one era over the other.

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[AmIWrongDude]

Stats is all this dude has now. It doesn't make him better than the guy who accomplished more as a leader in a lesser amount of time. Carry on though, it's hilarious that people are calling him goat. He's your favorite of all time and nothing more.

Lol at acting like your opinion is fact. Get off your high horse.