It's time to resume in the NBA, since the 2024/25 season will open on Tuesday for approximately eight months. For the occasion, on the eve of opening night, it is time to look at the different statistical issues of this new exercise, with NBA records to beat and thresholds to reach.
Like every year, several players will have the opportunity to break records and/or progress in the league's statistical hierarchy. Points, assists, triple-doubles or even minutes: zoom in on these “ milestones » ready to fall in the NBA in the coming weeks, provided that injuries do not come to spoil the party!
POINTS
Far behind the untouchable LeBron James, Kevin Durant can become the eighth player to reach the 30,000 career points mark. Stuck at 28,924 points, he only needs 1,076 to join the “30K club” and the Suns winger should do so in around forty games.
For their part, Stephen Curry (23,668 points) and DeMar DeRozan (23,582 points) will set the course for 25,000 career points, reached by only 25 players before them. Looking at the players around them, it should go faster for the Warriors point guard than for the Kings winger, but they should both accomplish this goal in the spring.
As for Giannis Antetokounmpohe will try to cross the threshold of 20,000 career points. He currently has 18,502 and he should need around fifty games to get there and immediately enter the Top 50 of the most prolific scorers in history.
Further on, a few players are on track to exceed 10,000 career points: De'Aaron Fox (9,940), Buddy Hield (9,820), Pascal Siakam (9,747) and finally Rudy Gobert (9,592).
REBOUNDS
Three players can reach the threshold of 10,000 career rebounds: Nikola Vucevic (9,435), Kevin Love (9,403) and Rudy Gobert (8,915). However, if Vucevic should achieve this in around fifty games, Love and Gobert should need an additional season to imitate him.
DECISIVE PASSES
With only 198 assists behind Jason Kidd (12,091) and a new role with the Spurs, Chris Paul (11,894) should have no trouble climbing the rankings and becoming the new runner-up to John Stockton (15,806!), in the ranking of the most prolific passers in history. Around thirty meetings should be enough for him.
For his part, Russell Westbrook currently totals 9,468 assists and he will therefore need 532 more to be part of the “10K club”. Not easy when we know that he will still come off the bench in Denver and that he will no longer have the ball or minutes as much as before, but not impossible…
For Nikola Jokic (4,667), Kevin Durant (4,645), Draymond Green (4,565) or DeMar DeRozan (4,527), the objective will rather be to cross the mark of 5,000 career assists, this being within everyone's reach.
INTERCEPTIONS
Certainly, Chris Paul also risks eclipsing Jason Kidd in the ranking of the most prolific interceptors in history. Paul (2,614) is missing 71 to also put Kidd (2,684) in his rearview mirror and establish himself as the new runner-up to the untouchable John Stockton (3,265!).
As Anthony Davis (974), Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (958), Kyrie Irving (956) or even Marcus Smart (955), Nicolas Batum (976) is very well on his way to joining the circle of players with 1,000 interceptions or more. Which would make him only the 17th player to total at least 10,000 points, 5,000 rebounds, 1,500 3-pointers and 1,000 steals in his career…
AGAINST
Objective 2,000 career blocks for Brook Lopez (1,912), who is now only 88 away from becoming the 20th player to achieve such a feat. Nothing difficult for someone who has averaged 2.2 blocks for six years.
For his teammate Giannis Antetokounmpo (986), the objective is half as high since he will simply aim for the threshold of 1,000 career blocks. Which is only a matter of time.
LEBRON JAMES
Since LeBron James is the man of all records in the NBA, we might as well make him a category of his own. This season, nothing stands out compared to previous ones, except that he can become the player who has the most minutes in his career. He is at 56,597 and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (57,446) is only 850 minutes away from being overtaken. The affair of around twenty meetings, while from the first, he will equal Vince Carter's record with his 22nd season of seniority.
By playing 13 matches, LeBron James (1,492) will enter the Top 5 of players with the most career matches, ahead of John Stockton (1,504). If he plays 69, he will successively overtake Stockton, Dirk Nowitzki (1,522), Vince Carter (1,541) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1,560) to establish himself as the sole new runner-up to Robert Parish (1,611). Whose record would be threatened the following season…
On the other hand, an inglorious record should fall into the hands of LeBron James : that of the greatest number of missed shots in his career. Kobe Bryant (14,481) is still ahead of him, but when he has missed 6 shots this season, James (14,476) will move to number one.
Conversely, LeBron James (14,837) can reach the milestone of 15,000 career baskets, provided they score 163 over the season. This should be resolved in around twenty meetings, in order to imitate Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (15,837), the only one to have achieved this so far.
Finally, LeBron James is only 142 units away from overtaking Moses Malone (8,531) to establish himself as the new runner-up to Karl Malone (9,787) in the ranking of the best free throw shooters in history. During his 21 NBA seasons, he has planted 8,390 free throws and he should climb one place after around forty games.
MATCHES
Three players can join the club of 1,000 career games played this season: Jrue Holiday (975), Taj Gibson (965) and Stephen Curry (956). As mentioned previously, LeBron James (1,492) can join the club of 1,500.
DOUBLE-DOUBLES
If he makes 21 this season, Andrew Drummond (479) will reach the milestone of 500 career double-doubles. For Nikola Jokic (444), it is missing 56, while Rudy Gobert (440) and Anthony Davis (434) need 60 and 66.
TRIPLE-DOUBLES
Record holder for the number of triple-doubles in his career (199), Russell Westbrook can become the first player to total 200. The last time he didn't have a triple-double in an entire season was in 2011/12.
Still at the “10-10-10” level, Nikola Jokic (130), Luka Doncic (77) and James Harden (77) can respectively interfere in the circles of 150, 100 and 100 triple-doubles in their career. But above all, Jokic will quickly overtake Magic Johnson (138) in third place, behind Westbrook and Oscar Robertson (181)…
BASKETS
If LeBron James is eyeing the milestone of 15,000 career baskets, Kevin Durant (9,950) will aim for 10,000 and it will only take a few meetings to get there. Like only 16 players before him.
3-POINTS
On the one hand, the inevitable Stephen Curry (3,747) will attempt to score 253 3-point baskets to become the first player to pass 4,000 in his career. On the other, James Harden (2,940) will have a double objective, well within his reach: overtake Ray Allen (2,973) in second place, then pass 3,000 in his career.
For Klay Thompson (2,481), his mission will also be twofold, and far from difficult: to pass 2,500 3-point baskets, then enter the Top 5 of the best shooters in history ahead of Reggie Miller (2,560). Note that LeBron James (2,410) is also well on its way to reaching the “2500K” prize-winning baskets, while Paul George (2,253) starts from further away, but he will quickly enter the Top 10 with 30 successes from afar.
Regarding the threshold of 2,000 career 3-point baskets, two players can reach it: Buddy Hield (1924) and CJ McCollum (1818). A circle that is less and less closed (16 members) and which should have two more at the end of the season.
FREE THROWS
Behind LeBron James, James Harden has the possibility of joining the Top 5 best free throw shooters in history. To date, he has 7,659 and is only 36 free throws away from surpassing Oscar Robertson (7,694). Potentially completed after around ten meetings.
