LeBron James is having arguably the best individual season of his career so far and is doing so well in his 15th year in the league. When comparing his 2017-18 campaign to other players in NBA history in their 15th season or later, he stands alone with an outstanding stat line of 27 points, 9 assists, 8 rebounds, one steal and one block per game which has not been done by any other player in the past. LeBron could become the first player in NBA history to win the MVP award in his 15th season or later, although his team’s struggles all season and the outstanding play of Rockets guard James Harden has him most likely finishing runner-up for the award.
If he does win it though, whether it be this season or in the future, it will be his 5th regular season MVP award, tying with Michael Jordan for second most all-time.
Whether the "King" can win the MVP award this season or not, he is still breaking many records and achieving great feats including recently reaching the 30k points mark and the 8k assists mark. The "King" became the first and the only player in history to reach 30k points with 8k rebounds and 8k assists. But besides that, "the chosen one" is on pace to embark on another record.
Outdoing himself
Last season, LeBron James outdid himself with 13 triple-doubles in 74 games during the 2016-17 campaign. He improved on his previous best of seven triple-doubles in a season, which he did during his first stint as a Cavalier in the 2007-08 season and the 2008-09 season.
And although there was a lot of speculation during 2015 when Warriors guard Stephen Curry was changing the game with his three-point shooting and winning a couple MVP awards that the "King" was on the decline, that notion has been completely destroyed with his performances last season and this season.
LeBron James in a recent game against the Denver Nuggets recorded his 13th triple-double of the 2017-18 season, finishing with 25 points, 15 assists, and 10 rebounds, tying his career-best over a season.
And with 19 games left in the regular season, and LeBron likely playing in all, if not almost all of the games left, he has time to set a new career-best with another triple-double. Last night in just three quarters, the "King" dropped 31 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists on the Pistons as he has been averaging a triple-double during the last month, it looks like he is in triple-double mode and will be able to record his 14th of the season very soon.
How he stacks up all-time
LeBron James throughout his career and more prominently in the last two seasons has been moving up the ranks in terms of all-time triple-doubles. After passing Larry Bird earlier this season, he sits in 6th place on the all-time list with 68 recorded triple-doubles in the regular season. This is just 10 behind the great Wilt Chamberlain with 78, who he will be focusing on passing up next although he is not on pace to do it this season unless he goes off in the last few weeks.
The list is then followed by fourth-placed Russell Westbrook (97 TD’s), third-placed Jason Kidd (107), second-placed Magic Johnson (138) and of course first placed Oscar Robertson with 181 career regular season triple-doubles.