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Los Angeles Lakers
Sep 12, 2025 11:19 AM EDT
LeBron James will start his 23rd season in the NBA when the 2025-26 season tips off in October. The former St. Vincent-St. Mary High School star from Akron, Ohio, has done pretty much everything imaginable in the league and in the game of basketball.
After starting his career in Cleveland, moving to Miami, then back to Cleveland, James looks to finish his career in Los Angeles with the Lakers. He has been with the organization since 2018 and helped it win the 2020 title.
A new historic detail about the career of “King James” emerged Friday morning. It shows his career impact on the league.
“LeBron James has played with or against 36.43% of all players who have ever played in the @NBA. It’s the highest such percentage in league history. Chris Paul, who passed Vince Carter last season, is now second. Of the 5,002 players who have played in the NBA, James has been a teammate or played against 1,822.”
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In all, James has won four NBA titles, four final MVPs and been the regular-season MVP four times as well. James was also named the Olympics MVP in 2024. Earlier this week, James was inducted, along with the rest of the “Redeem Team,” into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
The longevity of his career and his ability to play this long at an elite level amaze basketball fans the most. Here is the remainder of the top 10, with James and Paul leading the list.
Vince Carter
Dirk Nowitzki
Carmelo Anthony
Jeff Green
Dwight Howard
Russell Westbrook
Jamal Crawford
Andre Iguodala
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When the 2025-26 season gets underway, the Lakers will look to make a further march into the postseason than the last two years. The Lakers have been eliminated in the first round each season. Last year, the Minnesota Timberwolves took Los Angeles down in five games.
Los Angeles will start the season with Luka Doncic, along with James, running the offense. The two joined forces with the Lakers in February, and it appeared they would mesh well together, but the short postseason stay was concerning.
LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23). — Source: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
The 6-foot-9, 40-year-old has played in 1,562 regular-season games and started all but two of them. James has played 45 games or more in each of his NBA seasons. The last time he did not start a game was during the 2022-23 season.
James has also played in 292 postseason games, starting every one of them. In fact, James is averaging 41.3 minutes per game in the postseason, averaging 28.4 points per game.
The first preseason game for Los Angeles will be Friday, Oct. 3, when the Lakers will take on the Phoenix Suns. In all, they play six preseason games before Oct. 21, when they start the regular season at home against the Golden State Warriors.
About the author
Trending News Writer, Athlon Sports
Rodney Knuppel is a contributing writer to the Athlon Sports trending and breaking news team.