Austin Rivers’ comments on LeBron James’ scoring have gone viral in the last couple of days. The Rockets' former shooting guard observed how James’ scoring lacks the versatility that other superstars have.
Rivers' putting Kevin Durant above the all-time leading point scorer did not sit well with some players.
“What is a bag? This man has over 50,000 career points, and Austin is talking about a bag. 8th in 3-pointers made all-time. LBJ is a point guard deluxe, and Austin is talking about a bag. 6,000 career points should be disqualified from discussing and rating Scorers”,wrote the 17-year NBA veteran Eddie Johnson on X.
For context, Johnson had over 19,000 points over 17 seasons in the NBA. He sees how James has also evolved his game over the years. Even Rivers admitted in his criticism that the Lakers' superstar had improved his jumpshot and outside shot as he grew older.
LeBron James has played 400 games more than Kevin Durant, but still boasts a similar points average per game. The Lakers' forward has 27.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 7.4 assists per game, while the new Houston Rockets player has 27.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game in his career.
This shows that not only has James been scoring at the same rate as Durant for much longer, but also how he adds immense value to the scoreboard with his assists. Even former point guard Jeff Teague strongly disagreed with Rivers’ stance on his latest podcast episode.
“But as far as NBA and the scoring (goes), I think Kevin Durant’s one of the most skilled players, and skilled scorers. But that doesn't make him the best scorer. I think if I can get to the basket just as efficiently as you did, however I do it, I’m the best scorer and LeBron scores just as many points as anybody.”
Critics of James’ game say his scoring is laborious and dependent on his athleticism. Earlier in his career, as well, he received this jab. But even going into his 23rd NBA season, he’s carried on scoring with the same intensity that he did when he just came in. He’s become a better shooter since the time he joined the league.
One argument in favor of Durant is the 4 scoring titles he holds, whereas James has only one scoring title in his more than two-decade-long career. Durant is also set to cross Dirk Nowitzki, Wilt Chamberlain, and Michael Jordan on the all-time scoring list this year, but James sits there at the top with 42,184 points.
An argument can be made that James has been a much stronger all-around player during his career. Meaning that his energy has been spent on many other things, outside of scoring for the teams he plays for.
The Lakers superstar has been a stellar defender for the better part of his career and has been the primary elite passer. If he had spent part of that energy in scoring, maybe he’d have even greater scoring numbers.
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