With 21 NBA seasons now under his belt, LeBron James has seen and done it all. While there are endless statistics that convey James' sustained greatness and cement him as one of the best basketball players of all time, one stat regarding his legendary longevity went viral Wednesday night — due to its sheer absurdity.
During ESPN's broadcast of the Lakers' 127-110 victory over the Mavericks, a graphic was shown on screen stating that James has played against 35% of all players in NBA history.
LeBron's career longevity is wild ? pic.twitter.com/swJn8E85lv
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 18, 2024
While all of social media seemed collectively mind-blown by this crazy statistic, what's perhaps even crazier is that James — who ranks eighth all-time in games played — may not be the record-holder in this regard.
Back in 2020, it was reported that Toronto Raptors legend Vince Carter had played with or against 37.1% of all players in NBA history, across his 22-year NBA career.
Although that percentage beats James', it must be acknowledged that Carter's viral stat includes players he has played with and against, while James' stat only notes players he has competed against. In addition, Carter retired in 2020 and, therefore, hasn't faced any of the NBA's newcomers from the last three seasons.
So while we don't have the exact numbers to know whether James or Carter (or anyone else) actually holds the record for highest percentage of NBA players played against, the point is that both of these legends' longevity is astounding — especially because James is still performing at an all-world clip.
James finished Wednesday night's victory with 25 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. That brings his season averages to 24.7 points, 7.2 rebounds and 7.6 assists per game. Considering that James doesn't seem to be slowing down (along with his well-documented desire to play at least one season with his son, Bronny James, who is eligible for the NBA Draft in 2024), that 35% figure of NBA players played against will likely continue to rise for at least a few more seasons. Therefore, this 35% stat will be even more absurd once James' career is all said and done.
Until then, let's enjoy his greatness while we still can.
