Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James continues to shatter records set by Kareem Abdul Jabbar. A season ago, basketball fans across the globe watched in awe as James eclipsed the six-time NBA champion’s point total to become the league’s all-time leading scorer. Last night, the 22-year veteran dethroned Jabbar for the most minutes played in league history.
“They told me I’m old as hell,” James joked about his teammates in his postgame interview.
James has played the most professional basketball by a wide margin
James, 39, amassed 34 minutes in the Lakers’ 113-100 road win over the Sacramento Kings. The former No. 1 draft pick has now played a whopping 57,471 minutes in 1,517 regular season games, surpassing Jabbar’s 57,446 minutes that stood as the highest mark for over 30 years.
Factoring in playoffs, James is miles ahead of the pack with 69,330 total minutes played. Only two other players in NBA history – Jabbar and Karl Malone – have hit the 60,000-minute threshold.
LeBron’s near-70,000 total minutes played are the equivalent of 1,458 full games and convert to roughly seven weeks of on-court activity.
James is only kind of slowing down in his 22nd season
In his record-matching 22nd season, James has finally begun showing signs of decline, but not without flashing glimpses of his vintage self. In the third quarter of last night’s matchup, James took flight for one of his patented chase-down blocks and followed it up with a crafty coast-to-coast finish on the opposite end.
After missing back-to-back games due to foot soreness and an excused leave, James has appeared rejuvenated in his first two games back in the Laker lineup. He recorded 18 points, eight assists, and eight rebounds against the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday, and finished with 19 points, seven assists, and six rebounds against Sacramento.
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The Lakers won both games, marking their first consecutive victories since winning six straight in mid-November. On the year, LeBron is averaging 22 points, nine assists, and eight rebounds a game on 48% shooting from the floor and 36% from beyond the arc.
Los Angeles currently holds a record of 15-12, the seventh-best in the Western Conference. They will stay in California’s capital for one more game against the Kings tomorrow night before heading home to host the Detroit Pistons on Monday.
