LeBron James - The countdown pt 2. Road to 40,000

[Sedale Threatt]

Damn, I did not realize he was nearly that close. Thought it would be another couple of years, with the possibility he might not even get it. But barring some kind of catastrophe he's pretty much a lock for next season. Another remarkable achievement. And also, props to Kareem. Dude had to waste four years in college, including one he wasn't even eligible because of the NCAA's stupid-ass rule on freshmen, and he still set a record that stood for 40 years. All hail The Captain.

[vxmike]

Damn, I did not realize he was nearly that close. Thought it would be another couple of years, with the possibility he might not even get it. But barring some kind of catastrophe he's pretty much a lock to get it next season. Another remarkable achievement. And also, props to Kareem. Dude had to waste four years in college, including one he wasn't even eligible because of the NCAA's stupid-ass rule on freshmen, and he still set a record that stood for 40 years. All hail The Captain.

That’s crazy to think about. With the scoring numbers centers put up in the late 60s think how many more a young Kareem would have scored over four years?

[cursedsportsfan]

1402 just looks like a cool number to start from.

But it's also the distance from a all time record being broken. After dropping 38 points tonight, Lebron James is now just 1,402 points away from breaking Kareem Abdul Jabbars record 38,387. As a NBA fan since the 80s this was a number I didn't think anyone would reach. Seen plenty of legends play this game. Some real ones some fugazi's. It's going to be fun watching as this record gets taken down and the events which will happen in the NBA itself in this timespan.

Enjoy and let the countdown officially begin.

1,402. ------> 38387.

You aren't lying. I've been working nights to accommodate my wife and I doing schoolwork. I'll make sure I have that night off. Can't miss seeing that record get taken down. Although by then I should be back living with normal people..

[ropjhk]

Lebron's longevity, durability and resilience is what makes him stand out amongst the greats.

[Knightfall]

1402 just looks like a cool number to start from.

But it's also the distance from a all time record being broken. After dropping 38 points tonight, Lebron James is now just 1,402 points away from breaking Kareem Abdul Jabbars record 38,387. As a NBA fan since the 80s this was a number I didn't think anyone would reach. Seen plenty of legends play this game. Some real ones some fugazi's. It's going to be fun watching as this record gets taken down and the events which will happen in the NBA itself in this timespan.

Enjoy and let the countdown officially begin.

1,402. ------> 38387.

You aren't lying. I've been working nights to accommodate my wife and I doing schoolwork. I'll make sure I have that night off. Can't miss seeing that record get taken down. Although by then I should be back living with normal people..

Good luck and congratulations. Exactly. This will be historic. One of those you can tell the kids and grand kids about. I saw Kareems scoring record get broken. Wow.

[Myth]

am I the only one that doesnt really care about it?

I find it impressive, but there is a bit too much emphasis on it, which seems to be driven by people desperate to claim Lebron as GOAT. This is particularly strange to me given longevity rarely is how people rank players all time. If you look at most peoples’ top 10 all-time, the reasoning for each player’s location is almost never determined by length of career or career total in a given stat. To me it is an impressive record and it will be a historical moment in the NBA, but acting like Lebron one moment having 38386 points and then surpassing MJ as the greatest when he has 38388 is absurd. He‘ll be surpassing KAJ for points, not MJ for greatness as is one narrative being pushed.

[Parataxis]

am I the only one that doesnt really care about it?

I find it impressive, but there is a bit too much emphasis on it, which seems to be driven by people desperate to claim Lebron as GOAT. This is particularly strange to me given longevity rarely is how people rank players all time. If you look at most peoples’ top 10 all-time, the reasoning for each player’s location is almost never determined by length of career or career total in a given stat. To me it is an impressive record and it will be a historical moment in the NBA, but acting like Lebron one moment having 38386 points and then surpassing MJ as the greatest when he has 38388 is absurd. He‘ll be surpassing KAJ for points, not MJ for greatness as is one narrative being pushed.

Longevity absolutely factors into discussions of greatness.

Somebody could average 40 points a game over their career, but if that career was only two seasons, they'd never be in the conversation for greatest.

Greatness is about both peaks and time. You need both.

[Myth]

am I the only one that doesnt really care about it?

I find it impressive, but there is a bit too much emphasis on it, which seems to be driven by people desperate to claim Lebron as GOAT. This is particularly strange to me given longevity rarely is how people rank players all time. If you look at most peoples’ top 10 all-time, the reasoning for each player’s location is almost never determined by length of career or career total in a given stat. To me it is an impressive record and it will be a historical moment in the NBA, but acting like Lebron one moment having 38386 points and then surpassing MJ as the greatest when he has 38388 is absurd. He‘ll be surpassing KAJ for points, not MJ for greatness as is one narrative being pushed.

Longevity absolutely factors into discussions of greatness.

Somebody could average 40 points a game over their career, but if that career was only two seasons, they'd never be in the conversation for greatest.

Greatness is about both peaks and time. You need both.

It factors, but it is suddenly being over emphasized by LeBron fans. How it has been talked about recently is definitely inconsistent with how people have talked about these records historically. It used to be a record is a record, but now people talk about it as an achievement once reached puts him over Jordan. We don’t see this anywhere else. For a recent example, nobody says Melo was below Dominque in all-time ranking but now that he moved from #10 to #9 in scoring means he is better than Nique.

[MotownMadness]

Thats crazy

[12footrim]

I have LeBron playing into his 40s and pushing it to 45K points.

The One True GOAT!

At this rate and ability he's still showing why not. Especially since he has stated he wants to play with his kid. Hell if the 2nd one is a player he might want to stick around to try to play with him.

[mademan]

I find it impressive, but there is a bit too much emphasis on it, which seems to be driven by people desperate to claim Lebron as GOAT. This is particularly strange to me given longevity rarely is how people rank players all time. If you look at most peoples’ top 10 all-time, the reasoning for each player’s location is almost never determined by length of career or career total in a given stat. To me it is an impressive record and it will be a historical moment in the NBA, but acting like Lebron one moment having 38386 points and then surpassing MJ as the greatest when he has 38388 is absurd. He‘ll be surpassing KAJ for points, not MJ for greatness as is one narrative being pushed.

Longevity absolutely factors into discussions of greatness.

Somebody could average 40 points a game over their career, but if that career was only two seasons, they'd never be in the conversation for greatest.

Greatness is about both peaks and time. You need both.

It factors, but it is suddenly being over emphasized by LeBron fans. How it has been talked about recently is definitely inconsistent with how people have talked about these records historically. It used to be a record is a record, but now people talk about it as an achievement once reached puts him over Jordan. We don’t see this anywhere else. For a recent example, nobody says Melo was below Dominque in all-time ranking but now that he moved from #10 to #9 in scoring means he is better than Nique.

Lebron has a peak and prime that matches anybody too tho. It's not like his entire argument is longevity, it's that his longevity has only been achieved by a couple of guys, and he seems to be surpassing all of them.

Other people have other criteria, but to me GOAT has always been who has accomplished the most in the league, and it will end up being Lebron mostly because of his crazy longevity.

[rickbrunson]

I have LeBron playing into his 40s and pushing it to 45K points.

The One True GOAT!

If he keeps not playing defense and not caring about losing, he could play forever. lol

[Myth]

Longevity absolutely factors into discussions of greatness.

Somebody could average 40 points a game over their career, but if that career was only two seasons, they'd never be in the conversation for greatest.

Greatness is about both peaks and time. You need both.

It factors, but it is suddenly being over emphasized by LeBron fans. How it has been talked about recently is definitely inconsistent with how people have talked about these records historically. It used to be a record is a record, but now people talk about it as an achievement once reached puts him over Jordan. We don’t see this anywhere else. For a recent example, nobody says Melo was below Dominque in all-time ranking but now that he moved from #10 to #9 in scoring means he is better than Nique.

Lebron has a peak and prime that matches anybody too tho. It's not like his entire argument is longevity, it's that his longevity has only been achieved by a couple of guys, and he seems to be surpassing all of them.

Other people have other criteria, but to me GOAT has always been who has accomplished the most in the league, and it will end up being Lebron mostly because of his crazy longevity.

I'm not saying LeBron doesn't have a case nor that longevity should be ignored, but pointing out that the record is being overly set up as some bench mark that means something more than it is. If somebody believes LeBron is better than Jordan, than so be it. But the idea that Jordan is better than LeBron now but that switches once LeBron is the all-time scoring leader or that the scoring leader becomes some definitive proof that LeBron is better is silly, because it is ultimately an arbitrary number. LeBron has longevity in his corner for the debate already, just tacking on a few hundred more points doesn't make it any more compelling of an argument.

[theforumblue]

It factors, but it is suddenly being over emphasized by LeBron fans. How it has been talked about recently is definitely inconsistent with how people have talked about these records historically. It used to be a record is a record, but now people talk about it as an achievement once reached puts him over Jordan. We don’t see this anywhere else. For a recent example, nobody says Melo was below Dominque in all-time ranking but now that he moved from #10 to #9 in scoring means he is better than Nique.

Lebron has a peak and prime that matches anybody too tho. It's not like his entire argument is longevity, it's that his longevity has only been achieved by a couple of guys, and he seems to be surpassing all of them.

Other people have other criteria, but to me GOAT has always been who has accomplished the most in the league, and it will end up being Lebron mostly because of his crazy longevity.

I'm not saying LeBron doesn't have a case nor that longevity should be ignored, but pointing out that the record is being overly set up as some bench mark that means something more than it is. If somebody believes LeBron is better than Jordan, than so be it. But the idea that Jordan is better than LeBron now but that switches once LeBron is the all-time scoring leader or that the scoring leader becomes some definitive proof that LeBron is better is silly, because it is ultimately an arbitrary number. LeBron has longevity in his corner for the debate already, just tacking on a few hundred more points doesn't make it any more compelling of an argument.

or maybe it's been overly downplayed over the years by MJ fans who want to discredit Kareem?

[Myth]

Lebron has a peak and prime that matches anybody too tho. It's not like his entire argument is longevity, it's that his longevity has only been achieved by a couple of guys, and he seems to be surpassing all of them.

Other people have other criteria, but to me GOAT has always been who has accomplished the most in the league, and it will end up being Lebron mostly because of his crazy longevity.

I'm not saying LeBron doesn't have a case nor that longevity should be ignored, but pointing out that the record is being overly set up as some bench mark that means something more than it is. If somebody believes LeBron is better than Jordan, than so be it. But the idea that Jordan is better than LeBron now but that switches once LeBron is the all-time scoring leader or that the scoring leader becomes some definitive proof that LeBron is better is silly, because it is ultimately an arbitrary number. LeBron has longevity in his corner for the debate already, just tacking on a few hundred more points doesn't make it any more compelling of an argument.

or maybe it's been overly downplayed over the years by MJ fans who want to discredit Kareem?

That still wouldn’t make the difference between 38000 and 39000 less arbitrary when debating who is best.

Again, it isn’t just points either, it is other records. People considered Steph Curry the greatest three point shooter of all time before he surpassed Ray Allen in total 3s. Passing him was a fun historical moment, but it didn’t suddenly make him better than anybody, and that has nothing to do with a KAJ vs MJ debate. So why does that logic only suddenly get applied to LeBron and the total points record?

[mademan]

I'm not saying LeBron doesn't have a case nor that longevity should be ignored, but pointing out that the record is being overly set up as some bench mark that means something more than it is. If somebody believes LeBron is better than Jordan, than so be it. But the idea that Jordan is better than LeBron now but that switches once LeBron is the all-time scoring leader or that the scoring leader becomes some definitive proof that LeBron is better is silly, because it is ultimately an arbitrary number. LeBron has longevity in his corner for the debate already, just tacking on a few hundred more points doesn't make it any more compelling of an argument.

or maybe it's been overly downplayed over the years by MJ fans who want to discredit Kareem?

That still wouldn’t make the difference between 38000 and 39000 less arbitrary when debating who is best.

Again, it isn’t just points either, it is other records. People considered Steph Curry the greatest three point shooter of all time before he surpassed Ray Allen in total 3s. Passing him was a fun historical moment, but it didn’t suddenly make him better than anybody, and that has nothing to do with a KAJ vs MJ debate. So why does that logic only suddenly get applied to LeBron and the total points record?

GOAT debate is an arbitrary game bruh. Why 1 criteria matters more than another never makes any sense

[sp6r=underrated]

As long as LeBron doesn’t have an injury he should reach it next January or February in 2023

I really hope he breaks it in Cleveland.

[sp6r=underrated]

Damn, I did not realize he was nearly that close. Thought it would be another couple of years, with the possibility he might not even get it. But barring some kind of catastrophe he's pretty much a lock to get it next season. Another remarkable achievement. And also, props to Kareem. Dude had to waste four years in college, including one he wasn't even eligible because of the NCAA's stupid-ass rule on freshmen, and he still set a record that stood for 40 years. All hail The Captain.

That’s crazy to think about. With the scoring numbers centers put up in the late 60s think how many more a young Kareem would have scored over four years?

This is how good Kareem was. In his first season in the league he probably should have won league MVP and would have if he wasn't a rookie. In his second season, he played the pivotal role in one of the great forgotten GOAT teams

https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/MIL/1971.html

No question at all he spent 2-3 years as one of the best basketball players in the world at UCLA

[sp6r=underrated]

am I the only one that doesnt really care about it?

I find it impressive, but there is a bit too much emphasis on it, which seems to be driven by people desperate to claim Lebron as GOAT. This is particularly strange to me given longevity rarely is how people rank players all time. If you look at most peoples’ top 10 all-time, the reasoning for each player’s location is almost never determined by length of career or career total in a given stat. To me it is an impressive record and it will be a historical moment in the NBA, but acting like Lebron one moment having 38386 points and then surpassing MJ as the greatest when he has 38388 is absurd. He‘ll be surpassing KAJ for points, not MJ for greatness as is one narrative being pushed.

I have no problem if you don't consider Lebron the GOAT. And I agree this record doesn't decide it one way or another.

Just recognize a lot of very smart people have considered him the best basketball player of all time for a couple of seasons.

[JoeyLightYears]

But the idea that Jordan is better than LeBron now but that switches once LeBron is the all-time scoring leader or that the scoring leader becomes some definitive proof that LeBron is better is silly, because it is ultimately an arbitrary number.

Who is saying this?