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Three milestones LeBron James could reach in 2024-25 season
LeBron James enters the 2024-25 season with at least three statistical milestones within reach, a year after he became the first player in history to reach 40,000 regular-season points.
50,000 overall points
The Lakers forward is 1,364 points shy of reaching 50,000 career points (playoffs included). He enters the 2024-25 campaign with a combined 48,636 points (40,474 regular season + 8,162 playoffs). If he can maintain his points-per-game pace (25.7) from last season, he will hit the 50K milestone in his 53rd outing.
All-time minutes leader
After surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA's all-time scoring leader two seasons ago, James is on the brink of another longstanding record held by "Cap." Entering the 2024-25 campaign, James had logged 56,597 minutes in the regular season, just 850 minutes shy of Abdul-Jabbar's 57,446 mark. James — who averaged 35.3 minutes last season — can pass Abdul-Jabbar as early as the Dec. 8 game against the Blazers, provided he stays healthy and clocks the same playing time as last season.
Most 30-point games in history
The never-ending James versus Michael Jordan debate will only intensify if "The King" can achieve this specific record. Entering the 2024-25 season, James (554) needed nine 30-point outings to surpass Michael Jordan (562) for most such games in history. Considering that James had 22 games with 30-plus points last season, it's almost a shoo-in that he will surpass "His Airness" for this record.
Besides the statistical milestones, James is set to become the first player to play in the NBA as both a teenager and a 40-year-old. The Ohio native entered the league as an 18-year-old in 2003. He will turn 40 on Dec. 30. On a related note, he will tie Vince Carter for the record of most NBA seasons with 22.
In the not-too-distant future, James could also surpass Robert Parish's record for most regular-season games in history. The Celtics legend played 1,611 games during his 21 seasons in the league. James enters the 2024-25 season having played 1,492 games, trailing Abdul-Jabbar (1,560) for third on the list. If he can appear in at least 69 games this season, he will pass up Abdul-Jabbar and move to second.
James and the Lakers begin their regular-season campaign against the Timberwolves on Oct. 22.
More must-reads:
- Three Lakers role players who are key to a potential title run
- Insider reveals 'name to watch' for Lakers on trade market
- The 'NBA minutes leaders by season' quiz
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Damian Lillard’s agent takes a shot at the Bucks
Damian Lillard’s agent took an apparent shot at the Milwaukee Bucks following the star guard’s return to the Portland Trail Blazers. Lillard’s longtime agent Aaron Goodwin suggested that Lillard’s failure to perform to his peak abilities in Milwaukee had to do with the team’s system. Goodwin suggested that the Bucks did not play to Lillard’s strengths, and that he sacrificed for the good of the team. “He never really had an opportunity to play as he has played the first 12 years of his career,” Goodwin told Jamal Collier of ESPN. “He played to win in the system that he was in.” Lillard’s scoring numbers did drop after being traded to Milwaukee, but that was inevitable now that he was sharing the stage with Giannis Antetokounmpo. In two seasons with the Bucks, he still averaged 24.9 points and 7.1 assists per game, but the Bucks never quite meshed as a unit. His latest severe injury ultimately gave the Bucks reason to move on as they try to maximize their championship window. Based on Lillard’s reaction to being waived by the Bucks, it is pretty clear that he never completely settled into Milwaukee. His move back to Portland, in that context, may not be all that surprising after all.
Padres already demoting one of their trade-deadline acquisitions
The Padres announced they’ve optioned JP Sears to Triple-A El Paso. They recalled reliever Sean Reynolds and will go with a nine-man bullpen in the short term. Sears will spend at least 15 days in the minors unless he’s brought up to replace a player going on the injured list. San Diego acquired Sears alongside Mason Miller in last week’s massive deadline deal. The 29-year-old southpaw made his team debut Monday night. He allowed five runs in as many innings on 10 hits and a walk against the Diamondbacks. Sears took the loss in a 6-2 defeat. He’d carried a 4.95 earned run average over 22 starts with the A’s. Monday's performance pushed his ERA to 5.12 across 116 innings. It’s a bottom-10 mark among pitchers to log at least 100 frames. Sears had the highest home run rate among that group, offsetting his nearly league-average 20.3% strikeout rate and solid 6% walk percentage. This is the first time in two-and-a-half years that Sears heads to the minors. He broke camp with the A’s in 2023 and has been in the majors since then. Sears has also avoided the injured list for that entire time. As a result, he’s tied for fifth in MLB with 87 starts since the beginning of the ’23 season. The durability is the big selling point, as his production (4.62 ERA/4.56 SIERA) over that stretch is that of a fifth or sixth starter. The demotion shouldn’t have any impact on Sears’ service trajectory. He has already surpassed the three-year mark and will qualify for arbitration next winter. He’s under team control for three seasons beyond this one. While he’ll probably be back up at some point this year, it may require an injury elsewhere in the rotation. San Diego optioned Randy Vásquez over the weekend. They have a four-man rotation of Dylan Cease, Nick Pivetta, Yu Darvish and deadline acquisition Nestor Cortes. Darvish and Cortes will get the ball for the next two outings. San Diego is off Thursday and could turn back to Pivetta and Cease on extra rest for their first two games of the weekend series against the Red Sox. That’d point to the series finale on Aug. 10 as Michael King’s return date. King threw 61 pitches in what is expected to be his final rehab start on Sunday, via the MLB.com injury tracker. He’d be on six days' rest for his first MLB appearance since he went on the injured list in late May with a nerve problem in his throwing shoulder.
Jerry Jones takes another jab at Micah Parsons over contract stalemate
The Dallas Cowboys have a big problem on their hands right now. Micah Parsons has formally requested to be traded, and he took to social media to vent his concerns and frustration with his contract extension situation. However, team owner Jerry Jones isn't ready to budge. If anything, the controversial business mogul doesn't sound too worried about that. Talking to the media, he implied that he had already shaken hands on an extension with Parsons, so he just has to wait now: "I bought the Dallas Cowboys with a handshake," Jones said, per The Athletic's Jon Machota. "It took about 30 seconds. I gave the number, shook hands, the details we worked out later." Jones, one of the most successful businessmen of his generation, pretty much stated that he wouldn't change the way he does business. "Just so you understand the way that I communicate with people that I negotiate with. Let's leave it at that," Jones continued. "There's is no question that in the case of a player contract, you have to have it in writing. All parties do. We have a contract in writing, yet we're still talking about renegotiating, so so much for that." Parsons has every right to feel frustrated. He's one of the best pass-rushers in the game, and he's the youngest in the short list of superstars at the position. The Cowboys have a long history of dragging out negotiations for as long as they can, and that's usually rubbed their players the wrong way. Parsons is still under contract, and the Cowboys can technically wait to give him an extension because the market isn't likely to go any higher after T.J. Watt already got a deal done. But sometimes, it's not just about money, and these power struggles are terrible for team morale.
Angel Stadium experiences embarrassing issue after game
Angel Stadium is apparently doing its best impression of Oakland Coliseum. The Los Angeles Angels hosted the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday afternoon for a game at their Anaheim, California, home. It was the Rays who emerged victorious by a 5-4 final score, turning in some impressive plays along the way as well. After the loss by the Angels, the baseball gods continued to rain on them … literally. While reporters were gathered in the media room waiting for Angels interim manager Ray Montgomery to give his press conference, the roof in the room was noticeably leaking, resulting in water puddling on the floor and on a nearby trash can. Sam Blum of The Athletic shared the footage, noting that Montgomery’s press conference was ultimately moved to a different room. Angel Stadium opened back in 1966 and has served the home of the Angels ever since (also notably housing several other professional and collegiate teams, including the Los Angeles Rams from 1980-94). But it is clear that some renovations are badly needed at this point (beyond the trash can that appeared to have been intentionally placed under the leak to deal with the dripping water). Angels owner Arte Moreno, who has owned the team since 2003, is often accused of penny-pinching, particularly when it comes to resources and accommodations. Now that Angel Stadium looks to be slowly falling apart as well, perhaps Moreno will call for cups to be taped to the ceiling like other MLB teams have done before to stop leaks.
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