Why they rank here
The greatest career in the sport's history, and the strongest possible case that longevity is itself a form of peak. James is the NBA's all-time leading scorer with more than 42,000 points as of the 2024–25 season — he passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in February 2023 and became the first player to cross 40,000 in March 2024 — while also ranking in the all-time top five in assists. He has won four championships with three different franchises, four MVPs, four Finals MVPs, and a record 21 All-NBA selections, and he has reached ten Finals, including eight straight from 2011 to 2018 across two teams. The 2016 title is his masterpiece: down 3–1 to a 73-win Golden State team, he led both teams in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks for the series, with back-to-back 41-point games and the Game 7 chase-down block. Career averages of roughly 27 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.4 assists over 23 seasons describe a player who was his team's best scorer and best passer for two decades.
Career profile
Each bar shows how this athlete compares with the strongest in our all-time list for that metric.
Head-to-head
Compare career numbers side by side.