Kareem averaged 24.6 points for his career according to basketball reference. 4 seasons of that would amount to about 8000 points, and I don't know if LeBron will be in the league long enough to score that many. Not knocking LeBron at all. He's in my all time top 5 along with Kareem, Wilt, Russell and MJ.
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That assumes 1) Kareem would have played all 82 in all 4 of those seasons, and 2) that additional wear and tear on his body wouldn't have caused his scoring to fall off earlier than it did. The four years that Kareem spent at UCLA he played a combined 88 games: who even knows how that additional mileage would have affected him?
The weird thing in all of this is I never considered Kareem the GOAT (top 5 conversation in the Jordan era sure, but he's been slipping the last 25+ years since he retired and the Kobes of the world joined the league) and LeBron taking the scoring title doesn't add to any claim he has to that title in my mind either.
In my mind LeBron will leave one of the most complex legacies of any pro-athlete up until this moment in time. The "Decision" was a vanguard moment in sports history, almost as important as the very first free agent ruling and contract in all sports. For many of us who were fans for 25+ years before that moment, it was appalling. For others it was the beginning of a new era of player agency and represents true freedom for "employees" to seek what is best for them. Despite the money at stake, some view this simply like a union negotiating a 3% pay raise for a 3 year contract, or a routine 2 weeks notice for a new better paying job.
Unlike Jordan who was given GOAT status almost immediately after his first retirement if not before, I think LeBron's legacy is going to have to marinate for a few decades until we see if the decision represents the new normal, or a moment in time. The scoring title is secondary to ring chasing, and leaving skeletal husks of a franchise in the wake of each move he made after the fact.
In my mind LeBron will leave one of the most complex legacies of any pro-athlete up until this moment in time. The "Decision" was a vanguard moment in sports history, almost as important as the very first free agent ruling and contract in all sports. For many of us who were fans for 25+ years before that moment, it was appalling. For others it was the beginning of a new era of player agency and represents true freedom for "employees" to seek what is best for them. Despite the money at stake, some view this simply like a union negotiating a 3% pay raise for a 3 year contract, or a routine 2 weeks notice for a new better paying job.
Unlike Jordan who was given GOAT status almost immediately after his first retirement if not before, I think LeBron's legacy is going to have to marinate for a few decades until we see if the decision represents the new normal, or a moment in time. The scoring title is secondary to ring chasing, and leaving skeletal husks of a franchise in the wake of each move he made after the fact.
Had a similar incident down in the bay area about 10-15 years ago. Driving along one night on the freeway minding my own business - suddenly notice a red laser point on the dashboard. Disappeared after a few seconds. No idea if it's a dude with a gun or just a kid with a laser pointer. No idea if the damn thing has been on my head for the last mile. No idea if the thing is back on my head now. Figured the best move was to pretend I didn't see it and drive on - giving no provocation (if somebody was literally thinking of shooting me) nor satisfaction (if somebody was just trying to scare random people). Anyway, the car it must have come from carried on and I'm here to tell about it, but it scared the living crap out of me for sure.
The first point is a reasonable point.
But Kareem made a total of 1 three-pointer in his career. He played 10 years with a three-point line and attempted a grand total of 18 threes out of 11707 FGA in those ten years. That's 0.15% of his shots. At that rate, he'd have added another 1.5 points (rounding up to the nearest half) from the three-pointers he would have taken in the first half of his career.
But Kareem made a total of 1 three-pointer in his career. He played 10 years with a three-point line and attempted a grand total of 18 threes out of 11707 FGA in those ten years. That's 0.15% of his shots. At that rate, he'd have added another 1.5 points (rounding up to the nearest half) from the three-pointers he would have taken in the first half of his career.
It's hard to imagine that if Kareem played in today's NBA he wouldn't have developed a 3. Dude perfected the sky hook because it was more or less indefensible. I imagine if he played in a league where 3 point shooting big men were a thing he'd lead the league. I'm far from the biggest Kareem stan (he was a gd Laker ffs) but always struck me as one of the hardest working players of his era and it got results and is why his farewell tour was perhaps the most spectacular farewell tour I've ever seen a pro athlete receive.
But if James played during Kareem's years take his 3's from the first 10 years and change them to 2's. That's just over 1000 points.
I agree Kareem didn't take 3's, but it really wasn't a popular shot even when it started. There's no way to know if he could have been a decent 3pt shooter.
1979/80 season Brian Taylor (PG) led the NBA in 3pts made with 90/239.
I agree Kareem didn't take 3's, but it really wasn't a popular shot even when it started. There's no way to know if he could have been a decent 3pt shooter.
1979/80 season Brian Taylor (PG) led the NBA in 3pts made with 90/239.
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