NBA record watch: LeBron, Curry due for big milestones

 

 

MANILA, Philippines – They’re already on the all-time lists, but as always, NBA superstars like LeBron James and Steph Curry continue to pile up on their achievements. Here are some league milestones that are expected this season:

LeBron James
• POINTS: James, No. 7 on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, is poised to pass Dirk Nowitzki (No. 6), Wilt Chamberlain (No. 5) and Michael Jordan (No. 4) this season. James begins the season 1,254 points behind Jordan, which is about 46 games’ worth of points for LeBron based on his career average.
• ASSISTS: James needs 317 assists to pass Andre Miller for 10th place, which is about 44 games’ worth of assists for LeBron based on his career average.
• FIELD GOALS MADE: James needs 51 made field goals to pass Shaquille O’Neal for sixth place and 440 made field goals (about 45 games’ worth on average) to pass Kobe Bryant for fifth place.

Stephen Curry
• THREE-POINTERS: Curry, No. 7 on the NBA’s all-time list for three-pointers made, could crack the top 3 this season, depending on his performance and that of the active players ahead of him. Curry needs 15 three-pointers to pass Paul Pierce for sixth place. Curry trails No. 5 Jamal Crawford by 24 three-pointers.      

 

 

Dirk Nowitzki
• SEASONS: Nowitzki will set an NBA record for most seasons played with one team (21), breaking a tie with Kobe Bryant, who spent 20 seasons with the Lakers. Nowitzki will tie the NBA record for most seasons played overall (21), joining Robert Parish, Kevin Willis and Kevin Garnett. (Atlanta’s Vince Carter will also match the NBA record this season.)
• POINTS: Nowitzki, No. 6 on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, needs 233 points to pass Wilt Chamberlain, who is in fifth place. (Note: LeBron James is only 150 points behind Nowitzki.) 
• WINS: Nowitzki has been a part of 899 regular-season wins. With his next victory, he will become the sixth player in NBA history with at least 900 wins, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1,074), Robert Parish (1,014), Tim Duncan (1,001), John Stockton (953) and Karl Malone (952).
• GAMES PLAYED: Nowitzki is 29 games from 1,500 for his career, a mark reached by only 3 players: Robert Parish (1,611 games), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1,560) and John Stockton (1,504).

Vince Carter
• SEASONS: Carter will tie the NBA record for most seasons played (21), joining Robert Parish, Kevin Willis and Kevin Garnett. (Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki will also match the NBA record this season.)
• POINTS: Carter, No. 22 on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, needs 132 points to reach 25,000.

 

 

Russell Westbrook
• TRIPLE-DOUBLES: Westbrook needs 4 triple-doubles to pass Jason Kidd for third place on the NBA’s all-time list. Westbrook needs 35 triple-doubles to pass Magic Johnson for second place (Russ has averaged 33.5 triple-doubles over the last two seasons). Current top 4 in triple-doubles: Oscar Robertson (181), Magic (138), Kidd (107) and Westbrook (104).  

Chris Paul
• ASSISTS: Paul, No. 9 on the NBA’s all-time assists list, has a chance to move up to seventh this season. He needs 259 assists (about 26 games’ worth based on his career average) to pass Gary Payton for eighth place and 354 assists (about 37 games’ worth) to pass Isiah Thomas for seventh.
• STEALS: Paul, No. 12 on the NBA’s all-time steals list, is poised to crack the top 10 this season. He needs 68 steals to pass Mookie Blaylock for 11th place and 78 steals to pass Karl Malone for 10th.  

Carmelo Anthony
• POINTS: Anthony, No. 19 on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, needs 197 points to pass Alex English for 18th place. Depending on his production with Houston, Anthony could pass Oscar Robertson (No. 12) and Hakeem Olajuwon (No. 11) this season. Kevin Garnett (No. 17), Paul Pierce (No. 15) and Tim Duncan (No. 13) are among the players between Anthony and the Big O.  

Dwight Howard
• REBOUNDS: Dwight Howard, No. 14 on the NBA’s all-time rebounding list, needs 648 rebounds to pass Hakeem Olajuwon for 13th place and 669 to pass Wes Unseld for 12th place – roughly 51-53 games’ worth of rebounds for Howard based on his career average.
• BLOCKS: Howard, No. 17 on the NBA’s all-time blocks list, could climb as high as 13th this season. The next 4 players ahead of him are George Johnson (No. 16), Manute Bol (No. 15), Shawn Bradley (No. 14) and Ben Wallace (No. 13).  

 

Gregg Popovich
• WINS: Popovich is 3 victories shy of becoming the fifth coach in NBA history with 1,200 wins. Popovich (No. 5) needs 14 wins to pass Pat Riley (No. 4) and 25 wins to pass Jerry Sloan (No. 3) on the wins list. 
• TENURE: The 2018-19 season will be Popovich’s 23rd as Spurs head coach. Popovich will tie Jerry Sloan for the most seasons as head coach of one NBA team. Sloan spent 23 seasons as Utah’s head coach (which followed three seasons as Chicago’s head coach).   

San Antonio Spurs
• PLAYOFF STREAK: The Spurs have made the playoffs 21 consecutive seasons (1997-98 to 2017-18), tied with Portland (1982-83 to 2002-03) for the second-longest streak in NBA history. If the Spurs make the playoffs in 2018-19, they will tie the NBA record for consecutive playoff appearances. The Syracuse Nationals/Philadelphia 76ers hold the record of 22 straight playoff trips (1949-50 to 1970-71).  

National Basketball Association
• GAMES PLAYED: On March 10, 2019, the NBA will play its 60,000th game. Entering the 2018-19 season, 59,003 games have been played in NBA history.     

Source: NBA Philippines – Rappler.com