carolinajazz
Well-Known Member
....not that it was really in ever doubt....but there is ABSOLUTELY NO WAY Kobe Bryant can pass Malone on the NBA's all time scoring list, now that he's out with that bad shoulder.
....not that it was really in ever doubt....but there is ABSOLUTELY NO WAY Kobe Bryant can pass Malone on the NBA's all time scoring list, now that he's out with that bad shoulder.
Or his shoulder could heal, and he could play a few more years.
It's probably not going to happen, but it's possible.
No way Malone can pass him on rings either.
The record isn't safe just cuz Kobe won't pass Malone...
![]()
If lebron plays six more seasons like he has the average if the past 11 in scoring, he will be about right between malone and abduljabbar. So, yes, there is a chance he passes malone. A pretty significant chance.
...alright, hot shot! I did the math. If Lebron AVERAGES 25 points a game for the next 6 years......he would still be about 500 points short of catching Malone. Chances he AVERAGES 25 points a game for the next 6 years?......slim and none! Chances he misses games during the next 6 years because of injury, etc.......100%! Lebron's body is nowhere near as durable as Malones was! He has to work harder and jump higher, and do more scoring on his own merit than Malone ever had to do!
Lebron is 30. Malone retired at 41. Lebron came right out of high school. I could see him passing not only Malone but probably Kareem too. Unless he has a srs injury I think he will end his career with ~40,000 pts.
Alright hot shots. You are forgetting that Carolina Jazz did the math, it's impossible for someone with tattoos to be better than the mailman.If Lebron plays 11 more years (match the Mailman, retiring at 40) and if he can maintain the pace of scoring the Mailman did over his last 11 years (not counting the year he played in LA due to the injury messing up his stats), which is 25 ppg, then Lebron could end up with 50k points. I'm not saying it will happen, but becoming the top scorer in league history is well within his reach.
OK here is some math.
Let's say Lebron averages only 22 pts per game starting right now and into the future (for whatever time frame he continues to play), ignoring the fact that right now he is averaging 26 ppg and has averaged better than 26 ppg every single year of his career except the first. And let's say he doesn't play the rest of this season, so we start with his career point total right now, which is 24145. Also, let's assume starting next season he only averaged 75 games played per season going forward.
So at 22 ppg and 75 games per season, how many years will it take him to catch the top 3 (Kareem, Malone, and Kobe)?
Kareem = 38387 pts, 8.6 years
Malone = 36928 pts, 7.7 years
Kobe = 32482 pts, 5.1 years
At his current career averages how long will it take?
Current averages = 27.5 ppg and 79 games per season (adjusting for current season and lock-out shortened season)
Kareem = 6.6 years
Malone = 5.9 years
Kobe = 3.8 years
This would make him 36-37 years old when he surpasses Kareem.