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Houston Rockets
Los Angeles Lakers
Aug 14, 2025 3:11 PM EDT
No player in the history of the NBA has scored more points than LeBron James, who at age 40 last season with the Los Angeles Lakers averaged 24.4 points per game – incredibly the second lowest mark of his career, only surpassing the 20.9 points he scored as a rookie 21 years ago.
However, despite his obvious accolades, which includes four MVP awards, 21 All-Star Game appearances, and four championships, many are hesitant to give King James his flowers as a pure scorer. It’s not just keyboard warriors on social media either, as former guard Austin Rivers chimed in on James’ legacy and compared his offensive game to another future first ballot Hall of Famer in Kevin Durant.
Speaking on his podcast, “Off Guard with Austin Rivers”, the 11-year NBA veteran stated that James “doesn’t have half the offensive bag that Kevin [Durant] has.”
“But LeBron has been so dominant at the things he does do offensively,” Rivers continued. “He hasn’t needed it.”
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Rivers also praised LeBron’s work ethic, noting he might retire a better jump shooter than he was early in his career because of how hard he’s worked to improve that area of his game.
Durant is certainly no slouch in the scoring department, averaging 27.2 points per game across 17 years in the NBA, winning four scoring titles and – like James – never dropping below 20 points per game in his career.
Rivers compared the two players stylistically, noting Durant has more of the ‘sexy’ offensive moves, like a midrange stepback, while James’ game has been more reliant on bullying his way to the rim which impacts his perceived legacy as a scorer.
Rivers spent 11 years in the NBA with seven different franchises, retiring after the 2022-23 season with career averages of 8.5 points, 2.5 assists, and 2.1 rebounds in 707 games. He squared off against both James and Durant plenty, although he was never teammates with either of them.
James will look to make another run at a championship with Luka Doncic and the Lakers, while Durant joins his fifth NBA franchise in Houston hoping to add a third ring to his collection in his age-37 season.
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Andy Patton