LeBron James reached another statistical milestone Saturday by becoming the only player to ever total 7,000 career assists along with 27,000 points and 7,000 rebounds. He’s also the first front-court player in NBA history to reach 7,000 career assists.
A night after moving into ninth place on the all-time scoring list as part of the Cavaliers’ home win over the Heat, James drew a double-team from the Hornets with his back to the basket about 17 feet out on the left side midway through the first quarter in Cleveland. When Tristan Thompson cut down the lane, James delivered a perfect bounce pass that Thompson turned into a dunk.
The greatness of James has always been obvious, but people tend to focus on the scoring, the ability to control a game on both sides of the ball and the physical prowess. Within the game, though, players, coaches and executives have always praised his court vision and work as a distributor.
He began Saturday averaging 9.1 assists, on early pace for a career high and No. 4 in the league behind only James Harden, Russell Westbrook and John Wall. James is also 16th on the career list, with a clear path to continue to climb. Tim Hardaway is next up at 7,095 and then Terry Porter at 7,160. James could catch Lenny Wilkens and Maurice Cheeks to reach 12th place before the end of the regular season.
Congrats to @KingJames on becoming the FIRST player in @NBAHistory with 27,000 points, 7,000 rebounds & 7,000 assists! #ThisIsWhyWePlay pic.twitter.com/oTn84b8qLW
— NBA (@NBA) December 11, 2016
