The NBA has had many legends take the court over the decades, but LeBron James is truly a generational talent and great ambassador for the game of basketball. He’s had the highest expectations since we first learned of this kid from a small high school in Akron, Ohio, and he has managed to exceed them while becoming the NBA’s all-time leading scorer and arguably the greatest player of all time.
On Monday, King James celebrates his 40th birthday as he was born December 30, 1984 in Akron to his mother Gloria Marie James. Even at 40 in his 22nd season, he is still competing at a high level with his Los Angeles Lakers currently holding an 18-13 record, and James is averaging 23.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 9.0 assists per game, the kind of numbers only five other players in NBA history have ever averaged in a season.
While James’ impact on the sport goes beyond the numbers, we wanted to celebrate his 40th birthday with a look back at some of the most impressive and interesting numbers associated with his career.
Table of Contents
0: Games LeBron James Played in College Basketball (NCAAB)
Once upon a time, basketball players could go directly from high school to the NBA as many greats such as Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, and Dwight Howard did. But the most successful player to ever make this transition was LeBron James before the NBA introduced the one-year rule where a player must wait a full year after high school graduation to enter the league.
1: The Number of Father-Son Duos to Play Together in NBA History
Earlier this season with the Lakers, LeBron James achieved one of his career goals when he played in a regular season game with his son Bronny James, who the Lakers drafted in the second round of the 2024 draft.
They are the first father-son duo to play together in an NBA game, a feat we may never see repeated in our lifetimes.
4: NBA Championships, MVPs, Finals MVPs, Olympic Medals Won by LeBron James
While many will argue these numbers should be higher, the fact is LeBron James has won four NBA championships in his career (4-6 record in NBA Finals), and he was named NBA Finals MVP for each of them with the 2011-12 Miami Heat, 2012-13 Miami Heat, 2015-16 Cavaliers, and 2019-20 Lakers. He is the only player to win NBA Finals MVP for three different franchises.
James has also been named the NBA MVP of the regular season four times in 2008-09, 2009-10, 2011-12, and 2012-13.
Earlier this year, James won his fourth Olympic medal as part of Team USA basketball. It was his third gold medal after winning in 2008, 2012, and now 2024. James won a bronze medal in 2004.
LeBron’s career has also played out in four separate stints for the Cavaliers (2003 to 2010), Heat (2010 to 2014), Cavaliers again (2014 to 2018),and the Lakers (2018 to present). Shockingly, if LeBron returns next year for his eighth season with the Lakers, that will be the longest stint of his career with a team.
4.5: The IMDb Rating for Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021)
Let’s give him credit for even trying it, but maybe lost a bit in the pandemic was the dud Space Jam sequel that Lebron starred in back in 2021. It holds just a 4.5/10 rating on IMDb while the original Space Jam with Michael Jordan from 1996 is a 6.5/10 movie.
I guess this is one area where MJ clears LeBron with ease.
7: Buzzer-Beater Shots by LeBron James
LeBron James has made a ton of game-winning plays in his 22-season career, but he has seven buzzer-beater shots to win games. That’s tied with Paul Pierce for the fourth most on record. Only Michael Jordan (nine), Joe Johnson (eight), and Kobe (eight) had more.
My personal favorite buzzer-beater shot for LeBron is from Game 2 of the playoffs against Orlando in 2009:
13: LeBron James’ All-NBA Selections (1st Team)
LeBron James has been a first-team All-NBA selection 13 times in his career, a record amount that surpasses Kobe Bryant (11) and Karl Malone (11).
James has also been selected second-team All-NBA three times and third-team All-NBA four times, giving him a total of 20 All-NBA selections. The next closest players with 15 are Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
16: LeBron James’ Age When He Was Profiled in Slam Magazine
In 2001, a 16-year-old LeBron James was just going into his junior year of high school when he was profiled in Slam magazine as the best high school player in the country. Soon, James became the first high school basketball underclassman to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated. These magazine features and ESPN2 televising some of his high school games introduced many basketball fans to a very young James, setting those high expectations he’d eventually shatter.
20: NBA All-Star Selections for LeBron James
LeBron James is a 20-time NBA-All Star selection, the most in NBA history. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (19) and Kobe Bryant (18) are the next closest players. While he missed the All-Star game in his rookie season, James has been voted an All-Star in 20 straight seasons since.
LeBron is a 3-time winner of the All-Star Game MVP award.
22: Seasons in LeBron James’ Career
LeBron is currently playing his 22nd season in the NBA. Incredibly, he has averaged at least 20.9 points per game in every season of his career. Between his second year and last season, he averaged at least 25.0 points per game for 20 straight seasons.
25: Consecutive Points Scored by LeBron in Game 5 vs. 2007 Pistons
In one of the greatest moments of his career, LeBron James scored 25 consecutive points for his Cavaliers in Game 5 of the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals against the Pistons in Detroit. James scored 29 of the last 30 points for Cleveland, including 25 straight and the game-winning basket, on his way to 48 points in a 109-107 double overtime win.
The Cavaliers trailed that series against Detroit, an elite defensive team, 2-0 before winning the last four games, sparked by that epic performance from James in Game 5.
40: Conference Player of the Month Awards for LeBron James
It’s more than just his age now. In his career, LeBron James has been named the Conference Player of the Month an impressive 40 times, the most in history and more than Kobe Bryant (17) and Michael Jordan (16) combined as the next closest players.
His 68 awards as the Player of the Week are also an NBA record.
61: The Highest-Scoring Game of LeBron James’ NBA Career
On March 3, 2014, LeBron scored a career-high 61 points against the Charlotte Bobcats as a member of the Miami Heat in a 124-107 win. He was 22-of-33 from the field 7 rebounds and 4 assists.
148: Career Triple-Doubles for LeBron James
One of the most versatile players of all time, LeBron has 148 triple-doubles in his career, including the playoffs. Only four players have more, including peers Russell Westbrook (212) and Nikola Jokic (160). James also has 56 30-point triple-doubles in his career, a mark that only trails Oscar Robertson (114).
813: Consecutive Games Where LeBron James Scored 10 Points
Including the playoffs, LeBron has scored at least 10 points in 813 consecutive games, a streak that started on May 30, 2014 and has continued through Christmas 2024. The only longer streak in NBA history belongs to Michael Jordan at 1,041 games (March 25, 1986 through December 26, 2001).
The streak has led to some on gambling Twitter joking that the LeBron 10-point streak is a free money glitch.
1,807: Career Games Played by LeBron James
Another record that James recently broke is the career NBA games played when including playoffs. James has now played in 1,807 NBA games, surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1,797). He has also scored in all 1,807 games he’s played, another record for the longest consecutive games scoring streak. Tim Duncan is second with 1,600 games.
49,293: Career Points Scored by LeBron James
Including the playoffs, LeBron has scored 49,293 points in his NBA career. The next closest player is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who scored 44,149 points. That means James is coming up on 50,000 points.
69,469: Career Minutes Played by LeBron James
Including the playoffs, LeBron has played 69,468 minutes in his NBA career, the most by any player in history. The next closest player is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who played 66,203 minutes. That means James can get to 70,000 this season.
530,000,000: LeBron’s NBA Career Salary Earnings
According to salary data from Basketball Reference, LeBron James’ career earnings for his player salary is about $530 million through the 2024-25 season. You could buy a lot of Batmobiles with that money.
1,200,000,000: Lebron James’ Estimated Net Worth
Finally, LeBron James has an estimated net worth of $1.2 billion. Between his player contracts, endorsement deals, and business ventures, he is the first NBA player to become a billionaire (2023). James has already dipped into sports ownership with stakes in Liverpool FC, the Boston Red Sox, and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
It would not be surprising to see James as the owner of an NBA or even NFL team (Cleveland Browns?) in the future when his playing career finally ends. But until that time comes, let’s just appreciate the seasons we have left to witness the greatness of LeBron James.
Happy birthday, Bron.
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