LeBron's "20,000"

I would like to take the time out and say congratulations to LeBron James for reaching the 20,000 point club, after 726 games. This is an incredible feat, for a player like LeBron who is already in his 10th season. I feel that it is a shame that he has not gotten the proper credit that he deserves as a prolific scorer, until he came close to this milestone. His scoring ability is overshadowed by his all around numbers, and playmaking ability. Far too often, he is compared to Magic, but he is not a true point guard. LBJ was superior to Magic  scoring-wise. LeBron James even has a scoring title to his legacy. (2008-30 ppg) LeBron has the 3rd highest scoring average in history, behind Wilt Chamberlain (2nd), and Michael Jordan (1st). If you ask me, I would rather put the ball in his hands than Kobe. However, I have to do one thing before I go any further: I have to put this accomplishment in perspective. Yes, LeBron is the "youngest" to reach 20k points, just like Kobe was the "youngest" to reach 30k points, but age means nothing when it pertains to the NBA. As the song says "Age Ain't Nothin' But A Number". It is about how many games it took someone to reach that milestone. From a career standpoint, it has taken LeBron and Kobe "longer" to reach 20,000 points compared to those ahead of them. Even though both men came out of high school, they have played more games, and have had more flaws along the way, compared to their predecessors. As I was watching the Heat-Warriors game, I saw how Disn-ESPN blew smoke up Kobe again, saying that he was the "fastest to reach 20,000 points" before LeBron, because of his age. The players ahead of LeBron have turned pro after at least 3-4 years of college. Now, time to put things into perspective:

-Wilt Chamberlain (20,000 points, 499 games)
-Michael Jordan (20,000 points, 620 games)
-Oscar Robertson (20,000 points, 671 games)
-Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (20,000 points, 684 games)
-Elgin Baylor (20,000 points, 711 games)
-Allen Iverson (20,000 points, 713 games)
-Jerry West (20,000 points, 720 games)
-LeBron James (20,000 points, 726 games)

As it is very clear to see, Wilt Chamberlain reached this plateau faster than anyone, because of his incredible scoring averages (7 Scoring Titles in 7 seasons). Michael Jordan was the next to reach 20,000, but it took him 2 extra seasons than Wilt, while winning his seventh scoring title at the end of the 1992-93 season. It is also clear to see that LeBron has made, or at least taken less shots than the men above him, which results in him having to play more games to reach this point. Oscar Robertson was his prototype as a scoring playmaker. Like LeBron, Oscar himself was your standard 27-7-7 type of player. However, he was also the third fastest player to reach 20,000 points, because he has had more seasons of 30+ ppg (6) while LeBron has only had two. Others such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Elgin Baylor, Allen Iverson, and Jerry West have also had more seasons with 30 ppg or higher than LeBron. As I close out this point, I would like to make some other things very clear. LeBron has played 227 more games than Wilt, 116 more games than Michael, 55 more games than Oscar, 42 more games than Kareem, 15 more games than Elgin, 13 more games than Iverson, and 6 more games than West. However, I will go to LeBron's defense for this one case: Elgin Baylor and Allen Iverson were the biggest "volume scorers" out of this list. Even though it took them less games, LeBron has a higher field goal percentage than both of them. He was a more efficient scorer than both Baylor, and Iverson ever were. Iverson and Elgin have never had seasons shooting 50% from the field, while everyone else on this list has, including LeBron himself. With that being said, let us take a look at his contemporary, Mr. Kobe Bryant:

-Kobe Bryant (20,000 points, 811 games)

*Side note: If you include ABA, it also took Julius Erving just as long as LeBron to reach this feat.

Obviously, Kobe has had more blemishes than LeBron and any other player leading to this point in his career. LeBron has already annihilated his "youngest to 20,000" milestone. If he stays healthy, he can destroy his "youngest to 30,000" milestone as well. Kobe played 85 more games than LeBron did to reach this point. Unfortunately, Disn-ESPN, or as Dan Patrick would call them "The Mothership", is trying to protect their long-time Jordan-like investment (Kobe), by covering up the nasty zits on his legacy. As I have said before, LeBron should receive as much credit for his scoring as Kobe, if not more. LeBron is excellent at creating his own shots. That is the best way for me to describe it.

Here are the accomplishments of the players before him, when they achieved 20,000 points:

-When Wilt Chamberlain scored 20,000 points, he won 2 MVP's, and 7 Scoring Titles.
-When Michael Jordan scored 20,000 points, he won 3 MVP's 6 Scoring Titles, and 2 Finals MVP's.
-When Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored 20,000 points, he won 5 MVP's, 2 Scoring Titles, and 1 Finals MVP.
-When Oscar Robertson scored 20,000 points, he won 1 MVP, and 1 Scoring Title.
-When LeBron James scored 20,000 points, he won 3 MVP's, 1 Scoring Title, and 1 Finals MVP.
-When Jerry West scored 20,000 points, he won 1 Scoring Title, and 1 Finals MVP.
-When Allen Iverson scored 20,000 points, he won 1 MVP, and 4 Scoring Titles.

Out of the players who reached 20k before LeBron, Elgin Baylor had the least body of work. LeBron is in great company, when you look at his accomplishments, combined with his scoring. (This is specifically directed to the players who reached 20k within the span of time as LeBron).

Honorable Mention:
-Shaquille O'Neal- 20,000 points, 1 MVP, 2 Scoring Titles, and 3 Finals MVP's
-Hakeem Olajuwon- 20,000 points, 1 MVP, 2 Finals MVP's
-Larry Bird- 20,000 points, 3 MVP's, 2 Finals MVP's
-Moses Malone- 20,000 points, 3 MVP's, 1 Finals MVP
-Bob Pettit- 20,000 points, 2 Scoring Titles, 2 MVP's
-David Robinson- 20,000 points, 1 MVP, 1 Scoring Title

These players had great resumes when they reached this point, they reached 20,000 after playing more games than LeBron.

-Kobe Bryant- 20,000 points, 2 Scoring Titles

When Kobe reached 20,000, he had not won a Regular Season MVP, nor did he win a Finals MVP at this point. He had 2 more scoring titles than Elgin Baylor, but 2 less scoring titles than George Gervin.

Finally, it is time to look at the best 20k scorers of all-time. Here is a look at their field goal percentages:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar- 38,387 points, 56% FG shooting- 1,560 games
Karl Malone- 36,928 points, 51% FG shooting- 1,476 games
Michael Jordan- 32,292 points, 50% FG shooting (51% as a Bull)- 1,072 games
Wilt Chamberlain- 31,419 points, 54% FG shooting- 1,045 games
Kobe Bryant- 30,619 points, 45% FG shooting- 1,199 games
Julius Erving- 30,026 points, 50% FG shooting- 1,243 games
Moses Malone- 29,580 points, 49% FG shooting- 1,455 games
Shaquille O'Neal- 28,596 points, 58% FG shooting- 1,207 games
Elvin Hayes- 27,313 points, 45% FG shooting- 1,303 games
Hakeem Olajuwon- 26,946 points, 51% FG shooting- 1,238 games
Oscar Robertson- 26,710 points, 48% FG shooting- 1,040 games
Dominique Wilkins- 26,668 points, 46% FG shooting- 1,074 games
George Gervin- 26,595 points, 50% FG shooting- 1,060 games
John Havlicek- 26,395 points, 43% FG shooting- 1,270 games
Alex English- 25,613 points, 50% FG shooting- 1,193 games
Rick Barry- 25,279 points, 45% FG shooting- 1,020 games
Reggie Miiler-25,279 points, 47% FG shooting- 1,389 games
Jerry West- 25,192 points, 47% FG shooting- 932 games
Kevin Garnett- 24,824 points, 50% FG shooting- 1,293 games
Patrick Ewing- 24,815 points, 50% FG shooting- 1,183 games
Allen Iverson- 24,368 points, 42% FG shooting- 914 games
Dirk Nowitzki- 24,312 points, 47% FG shooting- 1,068 games
Charles Barkley-23,757 points, 54% FG shooting- 1,073 games
Elgin Baylor- 23,149 points, 43% FG shooting- 846 games
Clyde Drexler-22,195 points, 47% FG shooting- 1,086 games
Larry Bird- 21,791 points, 50% FG shooting- 897 games
David Robinson- 20,790 points, 52% FG shooting- 987 games
LeBron James- 20,007 points, 49% FG shooting- 726 games



There were others in between, but I wanted to cut it short. LeBron is in great company, especially with his field goal percentage. I added others such as Havlicek, Elgin, Iverson, etc, so that there have been other volume scorers besides Kobe. Outside of those players, the rest were very efficient, and took smarter shots. Now, LeBron is in the midst of his fourth straight season of 50% or higher from the field. Once again, I am very impressed, but he is not the fastest.