Lakers superstar could set a new franchise record this season

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) during the fourth quarter against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden
Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Is it possible for a supreme talent like Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James to get tired of making history?

It may be for others, but with the way James has dominated throughout his career and been the shining example of excellence and longevity, he’ll have more reasons to get up for work with the several NBA leaderboards he has the chance to rise on next season.

Lakers: LeBron James could move to No. 5 on all-time three-pointers made list

Per Jeff Case of NBA.com, James, 39, has made 2,410 three-pointers in his 21-year career. He needs 41 more threes to pass retired sharpshooter Kyle Korver for No. 7 on the all-time list. Add another 32 makes to that total, and the Ohio native will leapfrog Dallas Mavericks star Klay Thompson for No. 6 on the leaderboard. James could realistically enter the top five if he makes at least 151 triples, which would see him pass Hall-of-Famer Reggie Miller.

Sep 30, 2024; El Segundo, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (6) during media day at the UCLA Health Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Seeing that Thompson is still playing in the league and will be an integral part of the Mavericks’ offense next time out, he and James will likely jockey for positioning on the list all year long in 2024-25. That aside, James has a great chance to eclipse the aforementioned all-time great marksmen. He’s averaged over 2.1 3PM in each of his last five seasons. Further, the four-time league MVP shot a career-high 41 percent from downtown last season.

James could also rise along three other NBA all-time leaderboards in 2024-25

Should he remain healthy, James should easily rise by multiple spots on the list. Further, the four-time NBA champion has 2,275 career steals and with that, can pass legends Scottie Pippen (2,307) and Maurice Cheeks (2,310) to move to No. 6 on the all-time list. Additionally, he needs 142 more free throws made to usurp former NBA superstar Moses Malone for the second-most makes from the charity stripe in history and 69 games played to jump Hall-of-Famers John Stockton (No. 5), Dirk Nowitzki (No. 4), Vince Carter (No. 3) and Kareem-Abdul Jabbar (No. 2) for second place on the all-time games played list.

The latter achievement would be a testament to James’ noteworthy longevity and health, but rising along the three-pointers made list would be special, considering the fact that he battled criticism for being a subpar shooter as a superstar player for the better part of a decade to start his career. He’ll have the green light to take as many shots as he’d like from outside for the Lakers next season to help him reach the milestone.

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