LeBron Birthday Power Rankings: The best and worst seasons of King James’ storied career

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Every other week we bring you the greatest power rankings the world has ever seen, and this week is no different, only with a twist. This week we celebrate LeBron James’ 40th birthday in the finest of fashions.

But first an exercise. Before we rank James’ 22 seasons from worst to first, we must determine whether his current season marks the greatest age-40 season in NBA history for no other reason than we enjoy ranking things.

Only 22 players in NBA history played at age 40. Only nine of them played more than 1,000 minutes, including James, who eclipsed that mark on Saturday. And only five averaged double digits in scoring:

LeBron James (40): 24-8-9 on 50/36/77 shooting splits

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (40): 15-6-2 on 53/0/76 shooting splits

Karl Malone (40): 13-9-4 on 48/0/75 shooting splits

Robert Parish (40): 12-7-1 on 49/0/74 shooting splits

John Stockton (40): 11-3-8 on 48/36/83 shooting splits

So, yeah, it is not even a conversation. James is the greatest 40-year-old ever to play the game. That his age-40 season — the greatest age-40 season in history — ranks low on his list of greatest seasons says all you need to know about the man. He belongs on the Mount Rushmore of NBA superstars, along with Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Russell, and we can argue all day about what order they may fall, but first we must celebrate James with a debate all his own — the LeBron Power Rankings.

22. 2003-04 LeBron James

Team: Cleveland Cavaliers (35-47)

Statistics: 21-6-6 on 42/29/75 (79 games)

Advanced: 18.3 PER, 48.8 TS%, 5.1 win shares

Playoffs: Did not qualify

Accolades: Rookie of the Year, top-10 MVP candidate (9th)

The most-hyped prospect in basketball history lived up to the billing. James began his inaugural NBA season with 25 points against the Sacramento Kings and finished it with a Rookie of the Year trophy. His Cavaliers missed the playoffs by a single game, but by March of his first season he was dropping 41 points and 13 assists in a victory over the two-time defending Eastern Conference champion New Jersey Nets.

James joined Oscar Robertson and Michael Jordan as the only rookies to average a 20-5-5. It is…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/lebron-birthday-power-rankings-the-best-and-worst-seasons-of-king-james-storied-career-060245973.html

Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-12-30 06:02:00

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