LeBron James is about to enter a record-breaking 23rd season. Being one of the most well-rounded players ever, he's either first, or in the top 10 of every counting category there is. Most points, in regular season, postseason and both combined? First. Players to have at least 40,000 points, 10,000 rebounds, and 10,000 assists? James is the only one.
Shockingly, there are a few more milestones can surpass this upcoming season. Assuming all goes well in terms of health, and his production doesn't decline sharply, there should be no issue in him reaching these goals.
Here are the records LeBron James can break this season.
Most field goals ever
James already holds the record for the most Field Goal Attempts, attempting 30,583 in his career. He has the second most field goals made at 15,488. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who is first, has made 15,837 field goals, or 349 more than James.
Throughout his career, the lowest number of field goals made in a season was 422 in the 2020-21 season, where the season was shortened to 72 games, James playing in 45 of them.
If James can maintain his pace from the last two seasons, averaging around 9.5 field goals made per game, and shooting 53 percent from the field, it would take James around 36 to 37 games to become the all-time field goal leader. If James decides to take a back seat, attempting fewer shots to have the offense focus more on Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves, if he made eight a game, it would take 43 to 44 games.
Second most free throw attempts
The one area that LeBron James has struggled throughout his career is free throw shooting. He is shockingly, second in free throws made, but third in free throw attempts. To become first in free throws made, in needs to make 1,139 free throws, and James won't be in the league long enough to do that. However, he needs to attempt 127 to pass Wilt Chamberlain, to become second all-time in free throws attempted.
James has attempted 11,735 free throws in his career. Chamberlain has attempted 11,735. Based on LeBron James career averaged of 7.5 free throw attempts per game; it should take James 17 games to surpass Chamberlain. Has James has aged, he's drove to the basket less and his whistle isn't as frequent as it you would expect. He attempted a career low 4.7 free throws a game, and 331 total attempts, the third lowest in his career.
If number drops, call it an even four attempts per game, James should need around 32 games to surpass Chamberlain, and could potentially do it before the calendar turns to 2026.
Third all-time in assists
The best part of James' game has always been his passing. Despite scoring the most points in NBA history, he's also the only player to be top 10 in both total points and assists — currently sitting with the fourth-most, at 11,584.
Jason Kidd is right in front of him with 12,091. Kidd himself had an incredible career — a Hall of Famer and clearly one of the best passers ever, averaging 8.7 assists over 19 seasons. When he retired, he was second all-time in assists before Chris Paul passed him last season.
It is likely that Kidd will be passed again this season by James. He needs to have 507 assists, which he's accomplished in 14 of his 22 years. The other eight, five came in a season where he played less than 65 games, one being his rookie year, and the other two he just didn't average enough assists.
The last two seasons, James has averaged over eight assists per game, and if that happens again, he'll have no problem surpassing Kidd. The big "if" is how does playing next to Dončić and Reaves changed that, when they are also great passers.
Prior to James and Doncic first game playing together, James was averaging nine assists per game. Post that first game together, he averaged 6.6 assists per game. If that 6.6 assist per game remains consistent into the upcoming season, James would need to play 77 games, which he hasn't done since the 2017-18 season.
This milestone is the biggest variable dependent one for James surpassing. It will vary on how much he plays point guard, how many games he's able to play, and if his teammates make a high percentage of shots that he sets up. If everything goes well, James will end the season third all time on the all-time assists list.