LeBron James is about to start his 24th NBA season, and he took less money to do it than you’d spend on a used sedan. The two-year, $8 million deal he signed with Philadelphia is the smallest annual salary of his career. He walked away from $53 million last season to play with Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Jaylen Brown. That’s not a retirement tour. That’s a guy who still wants to push the record book off the shelf.
James turns 42 in December. He’s already the oldest active player, the highest-scoring player in history and the only guy who has won Finals MVP for three different teams. But the 2026-27 season could add seven more records to his name, plus three more if Philly wins a ring. He’s 27 regular-season wins away from passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the all-time wins record. That’s 1,074 for Kareem, 1,048 for LeBron. A healthy year with this roster gets that done.
The Longevity Stuff Is Almost Boring at This Point
James already has the record for most seasons played. Vince Carter had 22. LeBron enters year 24 in his Sixers debut. No active player is anywhere close. He also holds the record for most career minutes, having passed Kareem’s 57,446 in December 2024. Every game he suits up for in Philly just moves the number further out of reach.
Then there’s the scoring streak. LeBron has averaged at least 20 points per game in all 23 seasons of his career. That includes his rookie year, his age-38 season, every single stop. Sharing a floor with three other All-Star-level scorers might make that streak the hardest to keep alive. But if he does it, 24 straight seasons at 20-plus is something nobody will touch.
Scoring Milestones That Keep Shifting
James holds the record for most 30-point games in NBA history with 672, one more than Michael Jordan. Wilt is way back at 557. Jordan got his in 1,072 games. LeBron needed 1,523. That’s not a value judgment. It’s just two different ways to be great. Jordan burned bright and fast. LeBron just kept burning.
He also owns the records for oldest player to score 40 points and oldest to record a triple-double. He dropped 42 on the Warriors in February 2025 at 40 years and 38 days old, then posted a 28-point triple-double against Dallas at 41 years and 44 days. Both marks beat Jordan and Karl Malone respectively. A couple more nights like that in Philly and he’ll set the bar at 42.
One weird record he’ll likely add to? Most missed field goals. He passed Kobe’s 14,481 misses in October 2024. Sounds bad until you remember you can’t be the all-time leading scorer without taking a ton of shots. The misses come with the territory.
Three Records That Need a Ring
Winning a championship in Philly would give James something nobody has done. He’d be the first player to win titles with four different franchises. He’s currently tied with Robert Horry, John Salley and Danny Green at three. A Sixers title would also break the franchise’s drought since Moses Malone and Julius Erving won it all in 1983.
If he wins Finals MVP, he’d have that award with four different teams. He already did it with Miami, Cleveland and the Lakers. That’s the kind of record that assumes the guy is the best player on the floor in June. Embiid, Maxey and Brown will have something to say about that.
And if he wins Finals MVP at 42, he blows past Kareem’s record for oldest Finals MVP. Kareem was 38 years and 54 days old in 1985. LeBron would be pushing three full years older. That’s not a record. It’s a wall.
Most of these records just require LeBron to stay healthy. The last three require Philly to actually win. That’s the real tension of his 24th season. Individual history is basically a lock. Team history is the gamble he took $45 million less to chase.
Leave a Comment