Every other week we bring you the greatest power rankings the world has ever seen, and this week is no different, only with a twist. This week we celebrate LeBron James’ 40th birthday in the finest of fashions.
But first an exercise. Before we rank James’ 22 seasons from worst to first, we must determine whether his current season marks the greatest age-40 season in NBA history for no other reason than we enjoy ranking things.
Only 22 players in NBA history played at age 40. Only nine of them played more than 1,000 minutes, including James, who eclipsed that mark on Saturday. And only five averaged double digits in scoring:
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LeBron James (40): 24-8-9 on 50/36/77 shooting splits
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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (40): 15-6-2 on 53/0/76 shooting splits
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Karl Malone (40): 13-9-4 on 48/0/75 shooting splits
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Robert Parish (40): 12-7-1 on 49/0/74 shooting splits
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John Stockton (40): 11-3-8 on 48/36/83 shooting splits
So, yeah, it is not even a conversation. James is the greatest 40-year-old ever to play the game. That his age-40 season — the greatest age-40 season in history — ranks low on his list of greatest seasons says all you need to know about the man. He belongs on the Mount Rushmore of NBA superstars, along with Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Russell, and we can argue all day about what order they may fall, but first we must celebrate James with a debate all his own — the LeBron Power Rankings.
22. 2003-04 LeBron James
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Team: Cleveland Cavaliers (35-47)
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Statistics: 21-6-6 on 42/29/75 (79 games)
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Advanced: 18.3 PER, 48.8 TS%, 5.1 win shares
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Playoffs: Did not qualify
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Accolades: Rookie of the Year, top-10 MVP candidate (9th)
The most-hyped prospect in basketball history lived up to the billing. James began his inaugural NBA season with 25 points against the Sacramento Kings and finished it with a Rookie of the Year trophy. His Cavaliers missed the playoffs by a single game, but by March of his first season he was dropping 41 points and 13 assists in a victory over the two-time defending Eastern Conference champion New Jersey Nets.
James joined Oscar Robertson and Michael Jordan as the only rookies to average a 20-5-5. It is because of this season, though, that we know for sure James is not merely a cyborg constructed to dominate the game of basketball. The sole sub-50% true shooting percentage of his career is the only evidence we have. Just imagine appearing on a handful of MVP ballots and it being the worst season of your career.
21. 2024-25 LeBron James
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Team: Los Angeles Lakers (17-13)
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Statistics: 23-8-9 on 50/36/77 (28 games)
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Advanced: 21.9 PER, 58.4 TS%, 2.4 win shares
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Playoffs: TBD
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Accolades: TBD
Can we talk about how strange James’ recent leave of absence from the Lakers was? One of the greatest players in the sport’s history, who had played every game of the season to that point, walked away from his team, saying only that he was “taking some time,” and his coach had no idea when he would return.
He returned in short order, and we have all just accepted that, yeah, this is maybe how things are going to go in his age-40 season. He has earned the right to do as he pleases. Of that there is no doubt. But can you imagine if James did this in his prime? How big a story it would have been? Instead we expect him to require leaves of absence. We expect struggles. We have expected it for some time, but it has taken until now for him to lose his grip on the game. The numbers are still there; their impact has faded.
20. 2018-19 LeBron James
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Team: Los Angeles Lakers (37-45)
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Statistics: 27-9-8 on 51/34/67 (55 games)
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Advanced: 25.6 PER, 58.8 TS%, 7.2 win shares
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Playoffs: DNQ
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Accolades: All-Star, All-NBA third team, top-15 MVP candidate (11th)
On Christmas Day 2018, the Lakers held a home playoff seed, and James was arguably the leading candidate for the season’s MVP award in his first season in Los Angeles. It was then that he suffered a strained left groin, the first serious soft tissue injury of his career. It cost him more than a month.
When James returned, his young teammates had made clear they were not prepared to contend for a championship, and he publicly pined for Anthony Davis to replace them. His teammates did not take well the news that they would soon be traded. As one NBA executive told Bleacher Report at the time, “He killed the [Lakers’] chemistry.” They lost their direction, and before April, James had called it a season.
19. 2004-05 LeBron James
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Team: Cleveland Cavaliers (42-40)
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Statistics: 27-7-7 on 47/35/75 (80 games)
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Advanced: 25.7 PER, 55.4 TS%, 14.3 win shares
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Playoffs: DNQ
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Accolades: All-Star, All-NBA third team, top-15 MVP candidate (11th)
James was already carrying the game’s heftiest load in his sophomore season, leading the league in both minutes played and field goals attempted. He averaged the same statistical line — a 27-7-7 — that would become synonymous with his career. He logged his first career triple-double midway through the season and scored 56 points — a number that stood as his career high for nearly a decade — in March 2005.
“It’s weird talking about a 20-year-old kid being a great player, but he is a great player,” Hall of Famer George Karl, then coaching Carmelo Anthony in Denver, told Sports Illustrated, “and he could be the best ever.”
James did not quite dictate outcomes the way he would in seasons to come, but he did elevate the…
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