LeBron James just keeps making history. The Lakers superstar passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most regular-season minutes played in NBA history during Thursday night’s 113-100 win over the Sacramento Kings.
The numbers are staggering: 57,471 minutes across 1,517 games.
And he’s not done yet. James, who turns 40 in just a few days, hit the milestone in his 22nd NBA season. He’s already the league’s all-time leading scorer with 41,040 points.
“I just think it’s just a commitment to the craft,” James said about spending what amounts to nearly 40 straight days of his life on an NBA court. “And to the passion and love I have for the game.”
His teammates had a different take on the achievement.
“One of the coaches came in and congratulated me. My teammates said fโk off,” James laughed. “They told me I’m old as hell.”
The milestone is even more meaningful because it happened in Sacramento – the same city where James played his very first NBA game back in 2003 with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
In Thursday’s win, James showed he’s still got plenty left in the tank. He put up 19 points, six rebounds, and seven assists in 34 minutes.
“His voice is what we missed the two games that he was out,” said teammate Anthony Davis, who had a monster game himself with 21 points and 19 rebounds. “He’s a natural-born leader when it comes to the game.”
The achievement is just the latest in an incredible run for James. Last month, he became the oldest player ever to record three straight triple-doubles.
Through 25 games this season, he’s still putting up remarkable numbers: 22.6 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 9.0 assists per game.
Sure, there are finally some signs of age catching up – he recently took eight days off to rest a foot injury. But James and Vince Carter are the only players in NBA history to last 22 seasons.
The Lakers will stay in Sacramento for another game on Saturday. And James? He’ll just keep adding to those minutes.
