LeBron James recently made history by becoming the first player in the NBA to score 40,000 career points. The question now is whether we will be able to see other players achieve this feat in this lifetime.
Some believe Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic, whom James once called his favorite player, is the likely successor to the “King” to follow in his footsteps.
Reaching over 40,000 fans for the Los Angeles Lakers icon is no small feat. Aside from his scoring ability, James' durability and longevity also play a key role in his perhaps untouchable record, as evidenced by his career average of 27.1 points per game. By his tenure with the Lakers, which began when he turned 34, he suited up for about 76 games per season.
In terms of scoring, Luka Doncic may already have an advantage over his idols. Throughout his first six seasons with the Dallas Mavericks, he averaged 28.5 points per game. As of now, he's on pace to set a career high for the season, leading the league in points with 34.5 points per game.
Given today's NBA emphasis on offense over defense and emphasis on 3-point shooting, it wouldn't be surprising to see Doncic average over 30 points for the remainder of his prime.
It's also worth noting that he's likely to be this season's leading scorer and has already surpassed 10,000 points in his career. James holds the record as the youngest player to reach that mark, but Doncic did it in his 358th appearance, 10 fewer than the four-time MVP.
However, there are some obstacles to the 25-year-old's joining the 40K club.
First, he has a long injury history. He hasn't played at least 72 games in a season since his rookie year. Additionally, he doesn't seem interested in chasing LeBron's record and has said, jokingly, that he doesn't plan on playing as long as James.
But how long will it take for the five-time All-Star to score more than 29,000 points and reach 40,000 points?
Let's say he scores 30.0 points per game for the rest of his career. He would need about 967 more games to reach that goal. This means he will play another 12-14 seasons without spending much time on the injured list. However, given the number of games he has already missed, Doncic may have to stay in the NBA for a few more years.
So, while a four-time All-NBA First Team selection replicating James' latest feat is certainly not out of the realm of possibility, he probably won't be sweating it either. After all, his picture of a perfect career involves championships.
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