LeBron James turns 40 on Monday, and the Los Angeles Lakers star is about to affix a small checklist of NBA gamers who’ve been within the league at that age.
A take a look at some statistical milestones for gamers of their 40s in NBA historical past:
Scoring 40 at 40
There’s been just one 40-point recreation by a fortysomething in NBA historical past. That milestone belongs to Michael Jordan. On Feb. 21, 2003, 4 days after turning 40, Jordan scored 43 factors for Washington in an 89-86 win over New Jersey.
There have been solely seven video games of 30 factors or extra by gamers after they flip 40 — Jordan has 4 of them, whereas Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone and Dirk Nowitzki all have one. Those by Abdul-Jabbar and Malone got here in playoff video games.
Triple Doubles
Like 40-point video games, triple doubles are extraordinarily uncommon for 40-year-olds, with only one recorded within the league. Malone had it: 10 factors, 11 rebounds, 10 assists for the Lakers in a 103-87 win over San Antonio on Nov. 28, 2003.
Double-doubles are far more frequent for fortysomethings. There have been 95 of these over time: John Stockton had 23, Robert Parish had 22, Malone had 21, Abdul-Jabbar had 14, Jordan had eight, Dikembe Mutombo had 5, and Steve Nash and Nowitzki every had one.
Complete factors after 40
James goes to vault up this checklist. Not counting Tim Duncan and Danny Schayes — they each performed playoff video games at 40, however by no means a regular-season contest — there have been 29 gamers to attain within the NBA after their fortieth birthday.
And eight of these gamers — Juwan Howard, Charles Jones, Rick Mahorn, Charles Oakley, Bob Cousy, Jamal Crawford, Nat Hickey and Joe Johnson — scored not more than 21 factors in whole after turning 40. James would possibly cross them multi function recreation.
Abdul-Jabbar has probably the most factors after turning 40: He scored 1,941. Solely he, Robert Parish (1,706), Vince Carter (1,433) and Stockton (1,088) have greater than 1,000 factors at that age.
LeBron will not be the oldest
James is the oldest participant within the NBA proper now, but it surely’s in all probability secure to say that he will not set the document because the oldest in NBA historical past. He’ll must play six extra years to do this.
The oldest man to play in an NBA recreation was Nat Hickey, who acquired into two video games with the Windfall Steamrollers on Jan. 27 and 28, 1948. Hickey performed the second of these video games two days shy of his forty sixth birthday.
He was 0 for six from the sector and a couple of for 3 from the foul line. In his second recreation, he was charged with 4 fouls in three minutes of taking part in time. And he by no means performed once more.
40 within the Finals
There’s been just one participant within the final 20 years to play in an NBA Finals recreation in his 40s. That may be Miami’s Udonis Haslem, who was two days from turning 43 when he performed in a Warmth recreation within the 2023 title sequence vs. Denver.
Earlier than him, the newest fortysomething within the finals was Malone in 2004.
A mean night time
The common recreation for a participant as soon as he turns 40: 6.6 factors, 3.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists. That needs to be a typical James tops on a nightly foundation. His common recreation as a thirtysomething: 26.5 factors, 8.0 rebounds, 8.1 assists.
Who’s subsequent?
After James, the subsequent NBA participant to show 40 can be San Antonio’s Chris Paul — who hits the milestone on Could 6. He’d in all probability must be a part of a second-round playoff run to play at 40 this season.
Charlotte’s Taj Gibson turns 40 on June 24, so he’d have to return again subsequent season to play at that age.
The following one from there can be Philadelphia’s Kyle Lowry, who turns 40 on March 25, 2026, and would play at that age if he comes again for a twentieth 12 months subsequent season.
Reporting by The Related Press.
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