LeBron James passed Michael Jordan in career playoff scoring Thursday night against the Celtics and now has 5,995 points scored in the postseason. At 32 years old, we know James has several more playoff series in him, and that's why Richard Jefferson believes James just made himself immortal in the record books.
"I want to go on record because I want to be the first one to say this. His record, when he's done, will be unbreakable," Jefferson said after the game Thursday night.
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The veteran Cavs player compared the record to Joe DiMaggio's hitting streak in baseball and Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game as records that will never be broken. He believes James falls under that category because no other player will be able to maintain his level of success in the playoffs.
"Whoever tries to get to [James' record] is going to have to play in 10 NBA Finals and average 30 points a game to get there. Like, let's put that in perspective. That's impossible. What he's doing right now is obviously on a level that has never been seen before. To pass Michael Jordan when you're still in the prime of your career, you know one of the greats of all-time: that record will be unbreakable.
"If he adds another 1,000 points — who is going to be able to come in and go to 10 NBA Finals in this modern age, in this modern day, just to have an opportunity to do that? Go to the playoffs every year, to average 30, just the longevity to do that, the durability to do that. Most guys are fortunate to play 10 years, you know play 15 years, but to have to play 12 years and go to the Finals 10 times and average 30 points a game? It's impossible. I won't live to see that record broken."
That's certainly high praise, and Jefferson makes a good point. The reason Jordan's record was attainable is because the Bulls legend played when the opening round of the playoffs was a best-of-five format and James' opening round has been best-of-seven. So the added games, combined with James' dominance, made it easier.
But the feat is still difficult to accomplish, and James just made it even harder. And as Jefferson points out, James is still in the prime of his career, so he could easily add another 1,000 or more points to his total. And that's just scoring. He's also top-10 in other categories for career playoff stats.
Let's take a look: James is seventh in rebounds (1,862), third in assists (1,439), second in steals (382), fifth in 2-point attempts (1,797), third in 3-point attempts (319), second in free-throw attempts (1,444), second in minutes played (8,915), and ninth in total games (212).
He's close to becoming first in steals and free-throw attempts, and while those records aren't as sexy as points scored, they too could become unbreakable standards. All that said, what James is doing is unprecedented and may never be repeated.
