Losing track of the NBA record book is simple. Most of the time, we’re dealing with gigantic four- and five-digit numbers, and unlike a sport like baseball, where raw numbers frequently take center stage, most basketball statistics focus on averages. Michael Jordan averaged roughly 30 points each game, although I’m not sure how many points he scored overall off the top of my head.
So let’s start the new year by delving into the NBA record book to make the process a little bit simpler. Who will change history in 2023? There are many achievements to be made in the near future, but one individual stands out.
The LeBron group
LeBron James is very, very close to breaking the NBA’s all-time scoring record, in case you’ve been living under a rock. He now has 629 less points than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who holds the all-time record with 38,387. With 27.8 points per game, he needs 23 more games to break the record. That would enable him to break the record on February 9 against the Milwaukee Bucks, assuming no injuries.
The biggest record LeBron will shatter this season will be that one, but he’ll also advance in a number of other significant areas. James now holds the sixth-best assist total in NBA history (10,211). He’ll probably go up to fourth place before the end of the year, passing Steve Nash (10,334) and Mark Jackson (10,335). Despite being 43 steals behind ninth-place Clyde Drexler, who is ranked 10th in that category, he has a strong chance of overtaking him.
If you look at this situation in the long run, the all-time wins record is the greatest record James still has to break in order to score points. He has won 904 regular-season games in his career to date. Abdul-Jabbar currently holds the record with 1,074 points. Although James is still far behind him, he only needs 13 victories to overtake Dirk Nowitzki and move up to sixth place. James already holds the fourth-best record with 1,078 victories if you add the playoffs. James has a ways to go to overtake Abdul-Jabbar (1,228) and is unlikely to pass Robert Parish (1,121) for third place this season.
All others: Points
There’s a little probability that this season won’t bring us any new top 10 scorers. Only 307 points separate Carmelo Anthony from Shaquille O’Neal for tenth place in NBA history. As you might have suspected, Anthony’s lack of employment is the issue. That might alter. If not, Anthony will remain at position eleven.
a non-stuck person? K. D. Durant His 26,484 points place him 19th all-time in the NBA. Dan Issel, with a score of 27,482, would be a doable objective for this year. With his ABA points added in, he comes in at number 12. This season still has 49 games left for Durant’s Nets. If Durant played in every game, he would need to score 20.4 points on average to catch Issel. He ought to easily reach that point as long as he maintains a reasonable level of fitness, even with some games missing factored into the average. After that, he will advance on the leaderboard in succeeding seasons.
After Durant, things get more scarce. Both James Harden and Russell Westbrook are vying for a top-30 spot. DeMar DeRozan, Stephen Curry, and Chris Paul are all in their forties. Curry has a chance to move up much further on this list, but James and Durant are the ones to keep an eye on right now.
Everybody else: Helps
James aspires to be among the top five assists players. Paul is there already. With 11,159 assists, he is currently third, and he will probably stay there for the remainder of the year. He’ll ultimately pass Jason Kidd at 12,091, but for the time being, he’ll remain in third place. Depending on how long the two of them continue to compete, he might be battling James for that spot for the next few years. With a preposterous 15,806 assists, John Stockton is impossible to catch.
Only 130 assists separate Westbrook from the top 10 and he will probably pass Gary Payton within the next two months. Harden needs 44 more assists to crack the top 25, but Kyle Lowry is an active player, so that’s an issue. By surpassing Kevin Johnson at 6,711, both may ensure their entry into the top 25. Both are probably going to do this at some time this season. In the top 40, there are no other live players.
All others: Rebounds
Remember when DeAndre Jordan was selected to an All-NBA Team because there was such a center position drought? The record books have definitely been affected by that drought. With 10,412 career rebounds, LeBron James now holds the 40th-best position in history. On the rebounding leaderboard, he is the player with the highest active ranking. At 43rd, Jordan is directly behind him. Dwight Howard is the lone exception to this legendary rebounding drought; however, due to the fact that he is now playing in Taiwan, it is unlikely that he will ever break the top 10.
Team stats
The Boston Celtics have the fewest losses in the NBA, but they have already dropped ten games this year, ensuring that the 73-9 Warriors will continue to hold the record for regular-season victories. However, Boston might set a new record for offensive effectiveness. With 117.2 points on every 100 possessions, the Celtics are second in NBA history only to the 2021 Nets (117.3). However, it should be mentioned that this is a record that is regularly sold. The 2020 Mavericks had just one year earlier broken a record that was set by the Nets themselves.
The Golden State Warriors are also on pace to set a new mark for 3-pointers made in a season. This season, they’re on track to make 1,327. The 2019 Rockets broke the previous record with a score of 1,323. However, given Stephen Curry’s current injury, it’s unlikely that the Warriors would surpass Houston’s record. They simply need to wait a year or two before they can remain largely healthy.
Watch the Brooklyn Nets, the best mid-range shooting team in NBA history, if you’re seeking for a shooting record that will actually be broken this year. The Nets are shooting an astounding 51.3 percent from the mid-range with nearly half of the season gone by. The 2021 Phoenix Suns’ 47.4 percent NBA record stands. At 47.9 percent, the Celtics have a chance to surpass Phoenix’s mark as well, but if the Nets continue their current shooting form, it won’t matter.
