LeBron Putting Up Unreal Numbers
MIAMI (CBSMIAMI) – Miami Heat fans have become spoiled with the success of the team since LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined the squad in the summer of 2010. But fans really are witnessing history each time LeBron steps foot on the court.
According to the Associated Press' Tim Reynolds, only two players have scored at least 20,000 points, pulled down 5,000 rebounds, and dished out 5,000 assists in their first 10 seasons in the NBA: Oscar Robertson and LeBron James.
In addition, Reynolds points out that in the first 10 NBA seasons, LeBron has scored 21,081 points, which is just 817 points behind Michael Jordan through his first 10 years, but is still far off the incredible pace set by Wilt Chamberlain who scored 27,098 points through his first ten seasons.
LeBron is having another MVP-caliber season this year as well. For the season, he's playing fewer minutes than his career average, but has increased his numbers across the board. James is shooting 57 percent from the field, compared to a career average of 49 percent.
James is hitting better than 40 percent from behind the three-point line versus a career-average of 34 percent. LeBron has also increased his rebounding and assists while dropping his turnovers and personal fouls. LeBron is averaging just less than a point less than his career average.
Reynolds also offered this fact on Twitter Monday morning, LeBron has taken 1,354 shots this season and is hitting 57 percent of those shots. The only other players to pull that feat off are: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Adrian Dantley, Shaquille O'Neal, and Bernard King.
James is currently fourth in the league in scoring, fifth in the league in field goal percentage, is eleventh in assists per game, and is 21st in rebounds per game.
If that's not enough to convince you of James' impact on a team and why he's the MVP, this fact may sway your opinion: The Miami Heat have won 64 games this season; since 2010 when LeBron left, the Cleveland Cavaliers have won a total of 64 games.
