LeBron James milestones: Where Lakers star ranks all time in points, assists, steals, 3-pointers made

LeBron James once said he was chasing the ghost of Michael Jordan.

He might not catch up to Jordan’s six rings, but with the trajectory that James’ career has taken, he will surpass Michael in many career milestones by the time he hangs his Nikes up. 

Entering Year 19 in the league, it is only logical to expect that a player of James’ caliber would pass more than a few career milestones. Although he has spent more time off the court than he has on so far this season, the King will still drop enough numbers to move up the rankings in a few categories. 

James has often said he won’t look in the rearview until it’s all said and done, but that won’t stop us from taking a look at where the Lakers forward ranks all-time. 

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Where does LeBron James rank all-time in scoring?

Ironically, for a guy who isn’t considered a “scorer,” James is fast approaching Karl Malone for number two on the all-time list.

James has a career scoring average of 27.0 points per game. In season 2021-22, he is averaging just a touch under that career mark with 25.8 points per game.

Entering Friday’s game against the Clippers, James trailed Malone by 1,278 points. Assuming James stays healthy enough to play another 50 games this season scoring at his current average, he should surpass The Mailman before the regular season is over. 

If he maintains his 25 point scoring average, he will become the NBA’s all-time leader in points in about another 106 games.

Where does LeBron James rank all-time in assists?

James’ court vision has been one of his strengths throughout his career.

His selflessness in just trying to make the right play happen has served him well over 19 seasons. James has a 7.4 assist per game career average and is averaging (again) just a fraction under that this season with 6.8 per game. This is one category where the King will not rule – it feels like John Stock ton will hold this title for all eternity – but James will climb higher than his current eighth spot on the list.

As of Dec. 3, James needs 117 assists to overtake The Big O, Oscar Robertson. Assuming he doesn’t miss any more games, he should pass him in 17 games. 

Where does LeBron James rank all-time in rebounds?

This is one category that James will not end up in the top 10 when his career is all over. 

James currently has 9,808 total career rebounds to his name. Needing just 192 to crack 10,000, he should reach that within 37 games if he continues at his current rate of 5.2 rebounds per game. Current Lakers teammate Dwight Howard is 11th on the list all-time – he has 14,377 rebounds by comparison. 

Where does LeBron James rank all-time in steals?

This is another category where James will surpass Malone this season (not bad for a couple of forwards).

James is currently 12th on the all-time steals list, needing just three more to overtake Malone for 11th place. From there, he’ll have Alvin Robertson in sight for the top 10. 

James has a career steals average of 1.6 per game. He is actually averaging 1.8 steals per game so far in 2021-22, his highest since the 2011-12 season. In all likelihood, he will move into ninth place all-time by season’s end. 

Where does LeBron James rank all-time in 3-point field goals? 

The three-ball is another of the critiques James had about his game early in his career, but as the league adapted to a new style of play, so did its best player.

James currently sits fourth among active players and 11th all-time. He needs just 96 more to move up into 10th place. 

James is currently averaging 8.5 3-point attempts per game (a career-high) and making 2.9 per game (also a career-high), so it is not unreasonable to foresee him surpassing Paul Pierce on this list by the time the season is done.