Lakers News: LeBron James Reached Unprecedented New Playoff Benchmark This Year
Los Angeles Lakers All-NBA small forward LeBron James may not have returned to the NBA Finals this season, but he did further cement his claim as one of the all-time great playoff performers in league history.
Per Mike Trudell of Lakers.com, James has now scored 8,023 career points across his 282 playoff games, making him the first player ever to score more than 8,000 career points in the postseason. He's also the first player ever to score more than 7,000 or even 6,000 career points in the postseason, as Chicago Bulls Hall of Famer Michael Jordan is a distant all-time second, scoring 5,987 total playoff points across 179 playoff contests.
As Trudell notes, only two active players, Phoenix Suns All-Star forward Kevin Durant (7th, with 4,878 playoff points in 166 games) and Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry (11th, with 3,966 points in 147 games), currently occupy the top 15. Philadelphia 76ers point guard James Harden (19th, with 3,637 career playoff points) is the only other active player in the top 20. Like James, these three are all also first ballot future Hall of Famers.
Beyond James, seven other Lakers legends comprise the top 20: center Kareem Abdul Jabbar (third with 5,762 playoff points in 237 games), shooting guard Kobe Bryant (fourth with 5,640 career playoff points across in games), center Shaquille O'Neal (fifth with 5,250 career playoff points across 216 games), power forward Karl Malone (eighth with 4,761 career playoff points in 193 games), guard Jerry West (ninth with 4,457 points in 153 games), point guard Magic Johnson (16th with 3,701 points in 190 games), and power forward Elgin Baylor (20th with 3,623 points in 134 games).
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