Does it discredit records if their breaking was imminent

[Godymas]

LeBron currently has the most points of all time in the NBA. He broke a record set by Kareem which existed for many years. Kareem retired in 1989 and LeBron was drafted in 2003. In between that time, Jordan had his prime and it still wasn't enough to break Kareem's record.

When LeBron came into the league no one thought he could break Kareem's record. No one thought he would make it past 35. However LeBron has managed to do that and is now the all time point leader in both the regular season and the playoffs.

HOWEVER, LeBron may just have played at the same time as two players that might break his records in scoring. Those players are Luka Doncic and Jayson Tatum respectively. As of today Luka has a higher career PPG than LeBron. All he needs is the longevity and he will break LeBron's record. Tatum is also outpacing LeBron's rate because of his fortune to be drafted to the Celtics. Tatum was able to make the ECF early in his career and has consistently had deep playoff runs year over year.

The proximity of this leaves some questions about LeBron's true greatness. Is LeBron really the greatest of all time when it comes to scoring or did he happen to exist in an era where scoring was easier than it has ever been? Does LeBron really deserve the credit for breaking Kareem's record? It is a well advertised secret that scoring in the NBA is higher today than it was 10 years ago. A 20 ppg scorer is no longer an impressive thing. Actually every team has a 20 ppg scorer and most of them are not All Stars. Teams offensive rating is through the roof. LeBron obviously benefits from this. He is scoring at a rate never before seen from a late 30s player. Obviously some of this is LeBron's greatness, however how much of this is also inflation from the era? A lack of defense has been recognized in the modern NBA. The officiating leans towards offense, it's easier to score than ever because scoring drives viewers.

So does it discredit LeBron's greatness if he happened to have his records broken by players that competed against him? I would say it kind of does, it almost lends itself to the idea that LeBron is a product of his era rather than a product of transcending the game.

[ForeverTFC]

You forgot to log in to your Heir_Jordan account.

[DonaldSanders]

No, it does not discredit LeBron at all if his records are broken. Personally I don't put that much stock in just having the raw most of any particular stat. It's a nice feather in the cap, but LeBron's accomplishments are so far beyond that.

[Calvin Klein]

If you think numbers are inflated now (THEY ARE), you should go take a look at the early 60s.

[JustBuzzin]

Y'all gotta stop questioning LeBron.

40 years old and still better than some of your favorite players. There is nothing to question with LeBron.

[nikster]

First, Lebron started in the lowest scoring era in NBA history. Last time I checked the League wide average ppg by teams was similar to Jordan and Kareem for their career overall, if not lower. It's this new generation of stars you mention that are gonna have the benefit of era.

2nd, Luka and Tatum aren't that close. Lebron was 1500 points ahead of Luka when he was at Lukas current age. 3500 ahead of Tatum at their respective age. And it's the longevity thats the hardest part to replicate.

You wrote multiple paragraphs and put almost no real thought into this, impressive

[Sealab2024]

Probably because it indicates some fundamental shift in game play. If a record stands for 40 years and is then broken like 3 times in 5 years (looking at you baseball), one would have to assume something in the game has changed.

However, thats an insane concern in this case. LeBron is 22 years in without missing much time and will probably go a couple more. He's a literal genetic freak of nature. There's not a player today that's gonna go that long. It's as safe as the Pistols college scoring record.

[Frank Dux]

The most impressive feat of Lebron is that his body didn’t break down into his 30’s. He had the back problems in Miami but he somehow overcame that.

While Luka and Tatum are impressive, the real challenge for them is to stay consistent and injury free into their 30’s. Lebron is a complete anomaly in that regard, and that’s why he’s in uncharted territory.

Even in the bloated scoring era, it’s going to be an incredibly challenging for these younger guys to catch Lebron. He’s an outlier.

[Tracymcgoaty]

You could say this about literally **** anything.

[JustBuzzin]

First, Lebron started in the lowest scoring era in NBA history. Last time I checked the League wide average ppg by teams was similar to Jordan and Kareem for their career overall, if not lower. It's this new generation of stars you mention that are gonna have the benefit of era.

2nd, Luka and Tatum aren't that close. Lebron was 1500 points ahead of Luka when he was at Lukas current age. 3500 ahead of Tatum at their respective age. And it's the longevity thats the hardest part to replicate.

You wrote multiple paragraphs and put almost no real thought into this, impressive

You preaching to these youngsters. Teach them the game for they not know the history.

LeBron literally has a full grey beard and yet he's still a top 10 player.


Good luck to anyone catching this man on the scoring list. He's did it for 2 straight decades with no major injuries. This record won't be touched on our lifetime.

[Harry Garris]

Post season scoring doesn’t actually count towards the points record so Tatum’s playoff runs aren’t helping him out in that regard

[parapooper]

NBA average scoring over career/prime:

LBJ___MJ___KAJ__Luka
103.4 103.7 108.9 112.4
101.9 104.3 108.8 112.7

So if that holds Luka would have to score 4000 more points than LeBron to be as impressive, but he is currently about 4000 points behind age 25 LeBron.

[EmpireFalls]

Does it discredit them? No. If Luka or Tatum or whoever does ultimately break that record, they’ll get even more credit for breaking a record previously held by Kareem and LeBron.

No credit can be taken away - only added.

[Godymas]

Post season scoring doesn’t actually count towards the points record so Tatum’s playoff runs aren’t helping him out in that regard

the record is total points scored exclusively in the playoffs for Tatum

[picko]

Doncic is a mile behind LeBron at the same age and he's highly unlikely to have superior longevity. A higher scoring era may one day cause someone to break LeBron's record but it certainly won't be from Luka.

As for the playoff scoring record, Tatum is tracking extremely well. No doubt about that.

Yet it is important to note that when LeBron was Tatum's age he'd just completed the 2010-11 playoffs, beginning a consecutive finals run that we haven't seen since the 1960s. It's going to be very hard to stay ahead of LeBron age-for-age for that very reason. Even a 2nd round exit would see him fall behind and once he falls behind good luck closing the gap.

These scoring records are incredibly impressive and they aren't going to be easily broken.

[chilluminati]

Records are meant to be broken, regardless of the situation imo. Who or when doesn't really matter. the only argument made are rules changes via era but I don't hear many using that as a legit argument point.

[thebigbird]

Post season scoring doesn’t actually count towards the points record so Tatum’s playoff runs aren’t helping him out in that regard

the record is total points scored exclusively in the playoffs for Tatum

Tatum is 5,411 points behind LeBron in the playoffs. Kobe scored 5,640 points in the playoffs in his entire career. So basically Tatum will have to replicate Kobe’s career playoff output to catch LeBron, and that’s if LeBron never plays another playoff game.

[hauntedcomputer]

Kareem had four years of college. He'd likely still be about 5,000 points ahead of Lebron if he'd entered the NBA as a freshman, and he was certainly pro-ready then. Jordan's three years of college were important for his development, but it's easy to see how coming in as a 19-year-old and not retiring a couple of times, he could be 10,000 or more points ahead--basically six or seven more seasons. Timing and injury luck/skill are important, but this is primarily a longevity stat.

Ultimately, numbers are facts and not subject to opinion.

[Lalouie]

no because most records are cummulative anyway

[Homer38]

Since we are in the total points records for LBJ, this is the right thread to ask what is the most unbreakable record for him?

His point total in the regular season or in the playoffs?