LeBron James
LeBron James has played against 36 percent of NBA players
Throughout his career, LeBron James has played against over a third of all players in NBA history.
The official NBA and NBA History Instagram pages highlighted that the Los Angeles Lakers star has shared the floor with 36 percent of all NBA players.
James has played against 12 father-son duos, teenage phenoms like Cooper Flagg, and over 200 pre-2000 draftees.
His most common regular-season opponent is 2016 Olympic Gold medalist DeMar DeRozan. The talented duo has played 49 times.
Overall, James has played in 29 percent of all NBA seasons.
The four-time MVP winner on March 21 surpassed Robert Parrish for the most games played in NBA history.
The milestone occurred during a road game against the Orlando Magic. James started alongside Luka Dončić, Marcus Smart, Austin Reaves and Deandre Ayton as he officially overtook Parish on the league’s all-time games played list.
Milestone Moments Continue to Add Up for James
LeBron James
GettyLeBron James is the NBA’s all-time leader in minutes
James, 41, joked that he can’t keep up with every milestone, though his teammate Austin Reaves loves to inform him.
“He says a new stat every day about me,” James said.
“It’s not like I’m like writing things down and looking at the record book and saying: ‘I’m going to get that, I’m going to get that, I’m going to get that.’ It just kind of happened,” James said. “It was not on the list of things that I wanted to accomplish.”
Although milestones aren’t his chief concern, James cherishes them as proof that his goal of becoming an all-time great has been realized.
“I wanted to be the best player in this league at some point,” James said. “I wanted to be one of the greatest, if not the greatest, to ever play this game.
“I wanted to be an NBA champion. I wanted to possibly win rookie of the year, make All-Star appearances, win a gold medal, win some MVPs, those were some of my goals. But some of the stuff that’s just been happening over the course of the last few years has been super-duper cool.”
LeBron Has Rivaled Dozens of Legends
LeBron James
GettyLeBron James has played in 29 percent of NBA seasons
The former No. 1 pick James forever changed the NBA landscape when he entered the league in 2003.
During his ascent of the all-time NBA leading list, James played against dozens of legends who helped pave the way before him.
The 22-time All-Star has on-court battles against Reggie Miller, Gary Payton, Shaquille O’Neal, Allen Iverson, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett.
He’s also shared the floor with rising talents Anthony Edwards, Victor Wembanyama, Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Maxey, who all entered the league over a decade after James.
James’ longevity has been discussed at length, especially this season.
Still, playing against over a third of all NBA players in league history is a remarkable feat. Additionally, it is a testament to James’ durability and longevity.
The Lakers star on Feb. 12 became the oldest player to record a triple-double.
Deep into his career, LeBron remains a force in Year 23.
The Lakers forward has averaged 18.7 points, 6.6 rebounds and 6.3 assists over his last ten games.
James, 41, has continued to be among the league’s most effective floor generals.
The $98 million duo of LeBron and Luka Dončić is proving to be as legendary as the Lakers envisioned.
Behind the stellar play of its two highest-paid players, the Lakers have emerged as a title contender this season.
Despite having their nine-game winning streak snapped by the Detroit Pistons on Monday, the Lakers remain among the most potent teams.
The Lakers are 46-26, good for the third seed in the Western Conference.
They rank 11th in total points per game.