Has any NBA player ever had as much mileage on their body at age 30 as LeBron James

[Odinn]

Kobe; 34531 career minutes / 6888 playoff minutes / 41419 minutes
LeBron; 34481 career minutes / 6717 playoff minutes / 41198 minutes**
Garnett; 35535 career minutes / 2003 playoff minutes / 37538 minutes
Moses; 33357 career minutes / 3438 playoff minıtes / 36795 minutes

**: Sure, LeBron will lead this group by the end of 2014-15 season. But Kobe is pretty damn close. Let's not act like he's on his own on this matter.

[VengefulAngel]

Kobe; 34531 career minutes / 6888 playoff minutes / 41419 minutes
LeBron; 34481 career minutes / 6717 playoff minutes / 41198 minutes**
Garnett; 35535 career minutes / 2003 playoff minutes / 37538 minutes
Moses; 33357 career minutes / 3438 playoff minıtes / 36795 minutes

**: Sure, LeBron will lead this group by the end of 2014-15 season. But Kobe is pretty damn close. Let's not act like he's on his own on this matter.

Lmao this is ridiculous argument, Lebron has been the number one option since day 1. Kobe had a 3 years of developing before he became a significant piece.

[kunk75]

jason collins

[SamuraiSWISH]

Lmao this is ridiculous argument, Lebron has been the number one option since day 1. Kobe had a 3 years of developing before he became a significant piece.

Even though he was a great athletic talent by his 2nd season in 1998, with the capability of being an all star talent ... You're right.

His first 3 years in the NBA either off the bench, or limited games / minutes was a much longer developmental process. He at best the 3rd best player from those '97 - '99 seasons on the Lakers.

It was a form of college in a way. Kobe wasn't a legit star player until the '99 - 2000 season. And not a superstar until the 2001 season.

LeBron from his first game @ Sacramento was clearly his team's best player. With a shoulder of expectations greater than anyone in the history of the game. Social media. Nationally televised HS games. He had a bar set for him higher than anyone. Espeially for a league that was spoiled, and clamoring for the next transcendent talent that Jordan was ... and Bird / Magic before him.

20/6/6 as a rookie 18 year old.
27/7/7 as a 2nd year 19 year old.

v.s.

8/2/1 as a rookie 18 year old.
15/3/3 as a 2nd year 19 year old.

Those first seven years in Cleveland he carried a way heavier burden not just for the on the floor stuff. But the off the court stuff as well. He was the Cavs franchise, and was quickly becoming the face of both the NBA and Nike. It also made him spoiled.

Come on, dude. Not only was that the media's fault, but he actually ****ing delivered. Another couple years and he'll have been the best player in the NBA for a decade. what more can you freaking ask when the average player's career is around 10 years.

For the sake of clarity...

2006-08 arguably top 3
2009-13 best player by a significant margin
14 imo still better than KD
15 still the best in light of KD hitting an injury road block.


The media pretty much claimed best player since Jordan, sometime exuberantly described him as the next Jordan. He's pretty much delivered in that regard - been the Jordan of my generation (avid viewer since 2000)

How serviceable he's been adds to the greatness as well. Dude has made hundreds of thousands of fans 'get their moneys worth' when going to the game. He is a larger-than-life entertainer and his on-court demeanor has just oozed greatness since his first ring.

Nowhere did anyone - not in the media anyways - claim that he would 'win a lot of championships' when he was drafted. They simply claimed he'd dominate the league and that's exactly what happened.

I don't like him like I used to given the course of his career decisions or the way his character came to light.

I might respect Kobe more due to the work ethic, and competitveness ... but LeBron probably is our generation's Jordan in terms of overall historical greatness.

Kobe, Wade, and Vince obviously had more aesthetic similarity to Jordan being the same shape, height, weight, and type of athletes or basketball players. They were molded after Jordan. LeBron is totally unique. We need to appreciate him before he's gone.

Because to be honest after D-Rose's injury and besides KD, Kyrie or AD ... not really feeling the future stars in this league, their games, and their mentality.

[RedBlackAttack]

I don't think there's ever been player that has as much mileage on their body at the age of 30 as LeBron James does now. The guy is only 30 years old and he's already played in 874 games. That's fucking amazing. He's also averaged 39.5 minutes a game. He's also already played in 158 playoff games and averaged 42.5 minutes per game. Then you have to take into account all the olympic games he's played in. A substantial drop off in play is looming in the next 2 to 3 years. He already peaked a couple years ago and looks slightly diminished physically but it seems likely that he'll have a major drop off in play and athleticism in the next few seasons.

I feel confident in saying that there has never been a player that has averaged that number of minutes over that many games to start their career. EDIT: Someone put the numbers up.

It really is amazing. To me, that's the craziest thing about LeBron, even moreso than his absurd athleticism/size combination. He has been pretty much indestructable over the first 10 years of his career.

[Odinn]

Lmao this is ridiculous argument, Lebron has been the number one option since day 1. Kobe had a 3 years of developing before he became a significant piece.

I don't think I left out this issue. Kobe averaged only 15.5 mpg in his rookie season and 26.0 mpg in his sophomore season. His minutes already suffered from his developing stage. Kobe's average is 36.4 mpg and LeBron's average 39.5 mpg.

LeBron will play approximately 1400-1450 minutes in 2014-15 season. In the playoffs, approximately 800-900 minutes.

It'll be 41.4k versus 43.4k. Only 5% and 50-52 games difference for 12-13 seasons.


I posted total minutes numbers so I would NOT ignore Kobe's development stage. I don't think there's something wrong with my statement.

[yarrak]

I don't think I left out this issue. Kobe averaged only 15.5 mpg in his rookie season and 26.0 mpg in his sophomore season. His minutes already suffered from his developing stage. Kobe's average is 36.4 mpg and LeBron's average 39.5 mpg.

LeBron will play approximately 1400-1450 minutes in 2014-15 season. In the playoffs, approximately 800-900 minutes.

It'll be 41.4k versus 43.4k. Only 5% and 50-52 games difference for 12-13 seasons.


I posted total minutes numbers so I would NOT ignore Kobe's development stage. I don't think there's something wrong with my statement.

There is a difference between the load you carry as a first option and bench player. Pic Odin.

[ZMonkey11]

Of course, LeBron won't retire while still being very effective.. I think. Or is this Wiggins hate?

No, no Wiggins hate. Just wondering opinions because LeBron is still the best of the best in the game. When he is ready to retire, he will still be better than 95% of the league.

[Spurs5Rings2014]

No, no Wiggins hate. Just wondering opinions because LeBron is still the best of the best in the game. When he is ready to retire, he will still be better than 95% of the league.

Ala Duncan.

[COnDEMnED]

Lmao this is ridiculous argument, Lebron has been the number one option since day 1. Kobe had a 3 years of developing before he became a significant piece.

Also factor in the "Eastern conference multiplier". Meaning, his mileage is inflated because competition in the East, save one or two teams (who wont meet until the WCF), is nothing compared to the West, where your mileage "might" be cut short due to losing in a hard fought game 7 series in the first round.

East: You play longer (mileage) because no competition until the ECF, West: You could very well lose in the first round being a higher seed, effectively skewing said mileage.

Mileage is a pretty broad term. It's tricky to gauge when you look at context of game time/time played, era, competition, and conference. It's even harder to compare said mileage to peers who may not play against the same competition as often, in the same era, multiple eras, or in the same conference. A simple thing like changing playoff format to best of 5, best of 7, or top 16 teams instead of conference can significantly sway mileage.

Mileage on the surface is ok, I guess, when you're tracking all time achievements like total points, total assists, total rebounds, and hours played. When you get down to using it to compare player to player, in my opinion, it's a pretty difficult way to track and tally tangible statistics simply because of the complex contextual reasons I listed above. It makes my head hurt and I just give up. Too many variables that can **** everything up one way or the other to even attempt to create a benchmark.

[miggyme1]

here we go with the "mileage" questions.smh...

of course lebron's body isnt as fresh as it was when he was coming out of high school but people act like the human body is a car or something.lmao

look at veterans who are aging gracefully...dirk,duncan,kobe,vince....they all have waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more "mileage" than lebron.

if you take care of your body the right way in the offseason u will be fine.

[plowking]

here we go with the "mileage" questions.smh...

of course lebron's body isnt as fresh as it was when he was coming out of high school but people act like the human body is a car or something.lmao

look at veterans who are aging gracefully...dirk,duncan,kobe,vince....they all have waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more "mileage" than lebron.

if you take care of your body the right way in the offseason u will be fine.

The body is very similar to a car.

Something with a lot of moving parts and hundreds of things that can go wrong.

[Joyner82reload]

Wilt AVERAGED 46.8 MPG until age 30

[JT123]

look at veterans who are aging gracefully...dirk,duncan,kobe,vince....they all have waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more "mileage" than lebron.

if you take care of your body the right way in the offseason u will be fine.