LeBron James birthday: 39 milestones left for Lakers star to chase as he turns 39 years old

On Dec. 30, 1984, LeBron James was born. The basketball world hasn’t been the same since. Now, here we are, 39 years later, and James is still terrorizing the league he has dominated for more than two decades. There is no end in sight for LeBron’s excellence, and that has potentially enormous ramifications for the league’s record book.

As it stands, James already owns more records than he’ll ever be able to keep track of, but we’ve never seen a player this good last for this long. And if James keeps this up, he’s going to rewrite every leaderboard the league has. So, today, on his 39th birthday, let’s take a look ahead at the history that still awaits James. Below are 39 more milestones that still potentially await the greatest player of his generation. He may not reach all of them, but given the insanity behind some of the numbers below, it’s a minor miracle that they’re even possibilities.

1. James is 620 points away from becoming the first 40,000-point scorer in NBA history. At his current pace of 25.1 points per game, James will get there in roughly 25 games.

2. James may be the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, but age will certainly prevent him from becoming the Lakers’ all-time leading scorer. That honor belongs to Kobe Bryant at 33,643 total points. However, James does have a strong chance of cracking the top 10 in Lakers history. He currently has 8,342 points as a Laker, putting him 2,259 points behind No. 10 Jamaal Wilkes. At his current rate of 25.1 points per game, he would need roughly 90 games to get there. James is already the all-time leading scorer in Cleveland Cavaliers history and ranks fourth in Miami Heat history.

3. James trails another Laker, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, for the all-time field goal record. With 14,422 under his belt, James is 1,415 away from the record. James is averaging 9.3 made field goals per game this season. If he maintained that pace, he’d need roughly 152 games, or a bit more than two full seasons, to pass Abdul-Jabbar.

4. James already owns the record for most field goals attempted at 28,545, but if he’s going to pursue Abdul-Jabbar’s record for most shots made, he’ll inevitably become the first player in NBA history to attempt 30,000 field goals.

5. James has made 8,209 in his career, ranking fourth all-time. Karl Malone is the all-time leader at 9,787, and at his current pace of 4.2 per game, James would need roughly 375 games to reach Malone. That’s unlikely, but the 192 games it would take for him to catch second-place Moses Malone at 9,018 is a bit more attainable.

6. James has just as difficult a path to Malone in terms of free-throw attempts as he does makes. He’s in fifth place with 11,164, and he trails Malone (with 13,188) by 2,024. At 5.7 attempts per game, he would need roughly 355 games to reach first place. That ain’t happening. His path to catching second-place Moses Malone at 11,864, though, is far cleaner.

7. Believe it or not, James already ranks fourth in NBA history in 3-point attempts with 6,723. However, he will almost certainly remain there for quite some time. Why? Because first-place Stephen Curry, second-place James Harden and fifth-place Damian Lillard are all active. James will need roughly 128 games at his current rate of 5.5 3-point attempts per game to catch former teammate Ray Allen, who is currently in third place with 7,429, but Lillard will almost certainly pass him by then. Hey, it’s still nice to pass a former teammate.

8. James has a bit more room to grow in terms of made 3-pointers. He currently ranks seventh with 2,327, and both fourth-place Reggie Miller (2,560) and sixth-place Kyle Korver (2,483) are retired. James is making 2.3 3’s per game this season, meaning he’d need roughly 101 games to catch Miller. Of course, Klay Thompson (2,310) will likely pass him by then, and the foursome of Curry, Harden, Lillard and Thompson will likely partner with Allen to keep James out of the top five.

9. James currently ranks fourth in league history with 10,635 assists. He’ll never catch John Stockton, whose 15,806 are all but untouchable, and close friend Chris Paul, ahead of him with 11,711, is still active and adding to his total. Jason Kidd at No. 2 (for now) is reachable at 12,091, though, and at his current average of 7.9 per game, he’d need roughly 184 games to get there.

10. James isn’t a center, so there’s only so high he can reasonably be expected to climb on the all-time rebounds list. At present, he’s at No. 33 with 10,888. Let’s say he plays 200 more games at his current average of 7.6 per game. That would take him to 12,408, which would be good for No. 21 on the all-time list. Therefore, we can say he has a reasonable chance of cracking the top 20.

11. James is even further down the all-time blocks list. He’s at No. 88 to be precise with just 1,093 for his career. He’s averaging 0.7 per game this season. If we apply our 200-game math, we’ll set a projection of 1,233, which would be tied for 61st with Shawn Marion. Not bad for a forward.

12. Let’s get back on track here. James already ranks ninth in NBA history with 2,227 steals. He’s averaging 1.4 of them per game this season, so we’ll project an estimated 2,507 career steals for James. That would stick him between No. 5 Gary Payton (2,445) and No. 4 Michael Jordan (2,514) on the all-time list.

13. James ranks fifth in NBA history with 109 triple-doubles. Nikola Jokic and Russell Westbrook are both active, so he’s unlikely to catch them. But No. 3 Magic Johnson, with 138, is theoretically within reach. James has averaged around five of them per season for his career. He’d need to maintain that average into his 40s, so it’s potentially unlikely, but it can’t be ruled out. If he doesn’t move up the list, He’ll likely remain in the top five until Luka Doncic, who currently has 62, inevitably catches him.

14. James is already the record holder for most turnovers, and earlier this season, he became the first player in league history to turn the ball over 5,000 times. At 5,062, he leads the field by more than 500 turnovers. Russell Westbrook, who is still active, remains behind him, but when the dust settles, he may well end up with 1,000 more turnovers than any retired NBA player.

15. Reggie Miller holds the record for the highest single-season points per game average by any player age 39 or above at 14.8 points per game. James, currently at 25.1 per game, will smash that record, barring something improbable.

16. In terms of all-around contributions, James is currently on pace to become the first 39-year-old to average at least five assists and five rebounds per game across a season.

17. Jamal Crawford is the record-holder for most points in a single game by any player who is at least 39 years old with 51. Will James break that record? It’s hard to say. His high as a 38-year-old was 48… but he also had six of the 13 40-point games ever scored by a 38-year-old, so he’s certainly still capable of reaching that range.

18. Though it is exclusively a 21st-century statistic, James currently ranks second in NBA history with an on-court point differential of plus-7,298, according to Statmuse. That ranks second in recorded league history behind Tim Duncan at plus-8,910. Tracking when or if James will break this record is almost impossible given the context involved. However, James is plus-75 so far this season, and virtually always has a big, positive number in his plus-minus column, so under the right circumstances, James could potentially challenge Duncan.

19. James has won 939 games in his career, the sixth-most in NBA history. Abdul-Jabbar, with 1074, is the all-time leader. Projecting here would be impossible because we don’t know how long James will play or how good his final few teams will be. However, it’s fair to say he not only has a reasonable chance of breaking this record but also of becoming the first 1,100-win player in NBA history.

20. James has lost 511 games in his career. Fortunately, he’s not even in the top 20 in NBA history in that regard (yet), and it seems like a near certainty that he will leave Vince Carter’s record of 756 defeats undisturbed.

21. Robert Parish holds the NBA’s all-time record for games played with 1,611. James, at 1,450, is in ninth place. Assuming even decent health, it seems like a safe bet that James will be able to compete in the 162 games he’d need to to break this record.

22. Abdul-Jabbar holds the record for most minutes played in NBA history at 57,446. James sits in second at 55,078, and at his current pace of 34 per game, he will need roughly 69 games to break that record.

23. Vince Carter holds the record for most seasons played with 22. This is James’ 21st NBA season, so assuming James is still playing when the 2025-26 season comes around, he’ll be the new record-holder.

24. If James makes the All-Star Game this season, it will be his 20th selection, breaking his tie with Abdul-Jabbar for the most in league history.

25. Only three players have ever made the All-Star Game at the age of 39 or older. Abdul-Jabbar did it three times, setting the record for oldest All-Star ever at 41. Michael Jordan made it as a 39-year-old Wizard. Dirk Nowitzki was chosen as an honorary All-Star at the age of 40 in 2019. For James to become the oldest All-Star in NBA history, he would have to make the team in the 2026-27 season as a 42-year-old.

26. James has already been named an NBA All-Star more times than any NFL player has been picked to the Pro Bowl. For him to break the North American pro sports All-Star record, though, he has a ways to go. Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and Stan Musial were all chosen to 24 MLB All-Star Games, and Gordie Howe was chosen to 21 NHL All-Star Teams. James would have to be selected five more times to match those baseball legends.

27. If James is selected to an All-NBA Team this season, he would become the first 39-year-old ever chosen. Last season, he tied Abdul-Jabbar and Tim Duncan as the oldest players ever chosen at 38.

28. According to Spotrac, James is the highest earner in NBA history with roughly $480 million in salary. The $51 million the Lakers owe him next season will take him to $530 million, making him the first half-billion-dollar player the NBA has ever seen.

29. Per Spotrac, the NFL’s all-time earnings leader is Aaron Rodgers at roughly $342 million, MLB’s is Justin Verlander at roughly $350 million, and the NHL’s is Patrick Kane at roughly $150 million. Therefore, James will not only be the first half-billion-dollar earner in NBA history but in all of North American professional sports history.

30. Stephen Curry became the first player in NBA history to earn $50 million in a single season this year. Next year, James will join him. So will Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal.

31. No father-son duo has ever played in the same game in NBA history. James’ son Bronny is currently a freshman at USC, and James has spoken openly about his desire to play with him. If that ever happens, they will be the first combination of father and son to play in the same NBA game.

32. James has reached the NBA playoffs 16 times in his career. The all-time record is currently shared by former Utah Jazz teammates Karl Malone and John Stockton with 19. Depending on where James finishes his career, he could potentially become the first player in NBA history to reach the playoffs 20 times.

33. James has already played 282 playoff games, an NBA record. He’d need 18 more to become the first player to play in 300 playoff games.

34. James has played in 55 total NBA Finals games, ranking him fourth in league history behind Abdul-Jabbar (56), Sam Jones (64) and Bill Russell (70). James would need to reach the Finals at least three more times to break this record.

35. James has reached the NBA Finals a total of 10 times in his career. That ties him for third in NBA history with Abdul-Jabbar. Still, Jones (11) and Russell (12) have him beat.

36. James’ goal, for the moment, is to win his fifth NBA championship. Should he do so, he will become the 27th player ever to win a fifth ring.

37. In all likelihood, James will never become the oldest player ever to win an NBA championship, though. Why? Because Robert Parish did so as a 44-year-old on the 1997 Chicago Bulls. Should James win it this season, though, he would become just the sixth player to do so after his 39th birthday, joining Abdul-Jabbar (in both 1987 and 1988), James Edwards (1996), Kevin Willis (2003) and Parish.

38. Though we are a long way away from this, it’s worth noting that James has won championships with the Cavaliers, Heat and Lakers, meaning he is likely to see his jersey retired by all three teams. If that is indeed the case, he would become just the fourth player in NBA history to have a jersey retired by three teams. The most recent was Russell, whose No. 6 (which was once also worn by James) has been retired league-wide. The other two are Wilt Chamberlain, whose No. 13 has been retired by the Warriors, 76ers and Lakers, and Pete Maravich, who has had his number retired by the Hawks, Jazz and Pelicans (though he technically never played for the second New Orleans franchise).

39. James has long expressed his hope to one day become the majority owner of an NBA team. Only two North American professional athletes have ever been the majority owners of teams in the leagues in which they played: Mario Lemieux in the NHL and Michael Jordan in the NBA. James would become the third if he eventually does wind up owning a team.