LeBron scores over 10 points for the thousandth consecutive game
LeBron James celebrated his 36º anniversary by becoming the first player in NBA history to have 1,000 consecutive games with at least 10 points.
James’ accurate shot with a 6:15 am finish in the second half in San Antonio gave him 11 points for the game, marking his 1000th consecutive double-digit game, a milestone that will be difficult to match.
He already has the longest streak in NBA history – surpassing Michael Jordan’s 866 game mark on March 30, 2018 – and continues to increase the record every time he enters the field.
The last time LeBron failed to score 10 points in a game was on January 5, 2007, when he scored eight points, nine assists and five rebounds in Cavs’ victory over the Bucks. He has eight single-digit scoring games in his career, with six of them in 2003-04 (his debut season).
Remember that this sequence is only considered for regular season games. James has a couple of single digit playoff games – in 2011 and 2014, when he was in the Miami Heat. Adding them to the total single-digit games of the regular season, James reaches 10, which represents less than 1% (0.654% to be exact) of his 1,529 career games (regular season and combined playoffs).
As he climbed the scoring lists of all time in the regular season (No. 3) and in the playoffs (No. 1), it is James’s scoring consistency that separates him from other NBA greats past and present. This impending sequence of 1,000 two-digit scoring games is the most recent example of this consistency.
LeBron averaged 25.3 ppg last season, which was 12th in the NBA and second in the Lakers for Anthony Davis (26.1 ppg, 10th in the NBA). It took until his 17º season for LeBron not to be his team’s top scorer in a given season. What he did, instead, was to lead the league in assists for the first time in his career (with a better career performance of 10.2 bp).
Check out LeBron James’ best dunk in each of his 18 seasons.
Although his team leader scoring sequence was interrupted, he extended another notable sequence, averaging over 25 ppg for the 16º consecutive season. After averaging 20.9 ppg as a newbie, LeBron has never averaged less than 25 ppg in one season. This is the longest streak in the league’s history by a wide margin. The next closest players are Hall of Fame members Karl Malone and Michael Jordan for 11 consecutive seasons (and that’s What if we included Jordan’s comeback season in 1994-95, when he played only 17 games).
LeBron is not the pure scorer that Jordan was during his prime. Jordan won a record 10 scoring titles, while LeBron has one. Jordan also has the highest scoring average in league history, at 30.1 ppg, while LeBron’s 27.1 ppg is in fourth place. But when it comes to longevity and consistency, LeBron holds the upper hand over any of the biggest names of all time.
Looking excited to start 18º season, there is no indication that his double-digit scoring sequence will end soon. How far can it go and how long will it take before someone has a realistic chance to challenge your brand?
Since the 1983-84 season, there have been only nine strings of at least 300 consecutive double-digit scores. That list includes only two active strings – LeBron in 999 and James Harden in 411.
When we look at active strings, there are only six players who pass 75 consecutive games with double-digit scores entering Wednesday’s games. After Harden, the next longest streak of assets belongs to Kevin Durant (152 games), followed by Kawhi Leonard (125), Karl-Anthony Towns (113) and Bradley Beal (109). Add those five (910) and it still wouldn’t be enough to match LeBron’s streak.
Among the players with the longest active strings, Harden probably has the best chance of challenging LeBron. Harden is the league’s most prominent scorer, having led the league in each of the past three seasons.
However, he is behind LeBron in 588 games – the equivalent of more than seven full seasons of 82 games. In addition, LeBron does not stop at 1,000 games. This means that this brand will continue to grow, making it even more difficult for anyone to challenge.