In his 21st year in the NBA, there isn’t much that LeBron James hasn’t done. He has won the championships and MVP awards, qualified for all of the All-Star Games and First Team All-NBA selections, and just last season took over as the leading scorer in league history. He’ll set yet another milestone on Monday night when his Lakers take on the 76ers, as he will become the league’s leader in career minutes played at some point during the first half.
LeBron Becomes NBA Career Leader In Minutes
LEBRON HAS NOW PLAYED THE MOST MINUTES IN NBA HISTORY 👑
He passes Kareem for the most career minutes, including regular season and playoffs (66,298). pic.twitter.com/BT1PgAa24x
— ESPN (@espn) November 28, 2023
Since being drafted in 2003, James has played 66,289 minutes in the NBA for three different teams. That comes out to roughly 1,105 hours of jogging up and down the floor in his 21 years, and is just 9 shy of the all-time record. Similar to the all-time scoring record, James will have to pass a Los Angeles Lakers legend in order to make history. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was the leading points and minutes getter ever in the leauge, and James will now pass him in both. Abdul-Jabbar finished his career with 66,298 minutes.
It is just the latest feat in the incredible NBA career of LeBron James. Very few other players have played into the third decade of their careers, and none have done it with the force and dominance that James has continued to show at his advancing age. He hasn’t seen much of a decline in his production over the past few years, as he is still hovering around his 27/7/7 career average.
Better Start To 2023-24 Than Previous Season
BREAKING: LeBron James has now played the most minutes in NBA History. pic.twitter.com/oPZbyXew5S
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) November 28, 2023
Last season, the Lakers were able to overcome a 2-10 start in order to qualify for the playoffs, and made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals before losing to the eventual champion Nuggets. They got out to a bit of a slow start to the 2023-24 season, going 3-5 in their first eight games. But they’ve won seven of their last nine games and are crawling their way back up the conference standings, and will be looking to extend their solid streak with another win against Philadelphia tonight.
When James plays in 27 more games, he will pass Kevin Garnett for 7th on the all-time list in that category.
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