Where Lakers' LeBron James ranks on NBA's all time points, assists, steals, 3-pointers made leaderboards

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LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers)

LeBron James once said he was chasing the ghost of Michael Jordan.

He might not catch up to Jordan's six rings, but with the trajectory that James' career has taken, he will surpass Michael in many career milestones by the time he hangs his Nikes up. 

Entering Year 19 in the league, it is only logical to expect that a player of James' caliber would pass more than a few career milestones. Although he has spent more time off the court than he has on so far this season, the King will still drop enough numbers to move up the rankings in a few categories. 

James has often said he won't look in the rearview until it's all said and done, but that won't stop us from taking a look at where the Lakers forward ranks all-time. 

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Where does LeBron James rank all-time in scoring?

Ironically, for a guy who isn't considered a "scorer," James is fast approaching Karl Malone for number two on the all-time list.

James has a career-scoring average of around 27.0 points per game. In season 2021-22, he is averaging 28.8 points per game. Assuming James stays healthy enough to play enough, he should surpass the Mailman in around 22 games.

If he maintains his career point-scoring average, he will become the NBA's all-time leader in points in about another 75 games.

NBA's all-time leaders in scoring
Rank Player Points
1 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 38,387
2 Karl Malone 36,928
3 LeBron James  36,348
4 Kobe Bryant  33,643
5 Michael Jordan 32,292

LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers)

Where does LeBron James rank all-time in assists?

James' court vision has been one of his strengths throughout his career.

His selflessness in just trying to make the right play happen has served him well over 19 seasons. James has a 7.4 assist per game career average and is averaging (again) just a fraction under that this season with 6.4 per game. This is one category where the King will not rule - it feels like John Stockton will hold this title for all eternity - but James will climb higher than his current seventh spot on the list.

As of Jan. 20, 2022, James needs over 200 assists to overtake Magic Johnson. Then, there's the 10,000 career assists landmark.

NBA's all-time leaders in assists
Rank Player Assists
1 John Stockton 15,806
2 Jason Kidd  12,091
3 Chris Paul  10,715
4 Steve Nash 10,335
5 Mark Jackson 10,334
6 Magic Johnson 10,141
7 LeBron James  9,913
8 Oscar Robertson  9,887

Where does LeBron James rank all-time in rebounds?

This is one category that James will not end up in the top 10 when his career is all over. 

James currently has 10,009 total career rebounds to his name, ranking 42nd all-time and needing just 29 to rise to 41st by overtaking current teammate DeAndre Jordan. Current Lakers teammate Dwight Howard is 10th on the list all-time - he has 14,468 rebounds by comparison. 

LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers)

Where does LeBron James rank all-time in steals?

James recently joined the Top 10 leaderboard for all-time steals.

James has a career steals average of 1.6 per game. He is actually averaging 1.6 steals per game so far in 2021-22, his highest since the 2011-12 season. In all likelihood, he will move into ninth place all-time by the season's end. 

NBA's all-time leaders in steals
Rank Player Steals
1 John Stockton 3,265
2 Jason Kidd 2,684
3 Michael Jordan 2,514
4 Gary Payton 2,445
5 Chris Paul 2,417
6 Maurice Cheeks 2,310
7 Scottie Pippen  2,307
8 Clyde Drexler  2,207
9 Hakeem Olajuwon 2,162
10. LeBron James 2,117

Where does LeBron James rank all-time in 3-point field goals? 

The three-ball is another of the critiques James had about his game early in his career, but as the league adapted to a new style of play, so did its best player.

James currently sits fourth among active players and 11th all-time. He needs just 68 more to move up into 10th place. 

James is currently averaging 7.9 3-point attempts per game (a career-high) and making 2.9 per game (also a career-high), so it is not unreasonable to foresee him surpassing Paul Pierce for ninth on this list by the time the 2021-22 season is done. 

NBA's all-time leaders in 3-point field goals
Rank Player 3-point field goals
1 Stephen Curry 3,038
2 Ray Allen 2,973
3 Reggie Miller 2,560
4 James Harden 2,541
5 Kyle Korver 2,450
6 Vince Carter 2,290
7 Jason Terry  2,282
8 Jamal Crawford  2,221
9 Damian Lillard 2,143
  Paul Pierce  2,143
11 LeBron James  2,076
Author(s)
Nick Metallinos Photo

Nick Metallinos is digital content producer for NBA Australia