NBA's Greatest Players in History: LeBron James

• LeBron James is the NBA's all-time leading scorer
• He is the first player in history to play alongside his son in an official NBA game
• LeBron James is a member of the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team

For two decades, LeBron James has been the argument. Greatest of all time? Best of his era? The most complete player the game has ever produced? Whichever side you land on, the numbers and the longevity make him impossible to leave out of the conversation - and in 2026, at 41, he is still writing new chapters.

The essentials

• The NBA's all-time leading scorer
• 4x NBA champion and 4x Finals MVP
• 4x NBA Most Valuable Player
• First player in history to share an NBA court with his son
• Foundation member of the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team

Overview

Standing 6'9" and 250 pounds, with the vision of a point guard inside the frame of a power forward, LeBron James has spent his career breaking the mould of what a basketball player is meant to be. Speed, strength, basketball IQ, durability - he has had all of it, at once, for longer than anyone. Twenty-three seasons in, he is still an All-NBA-level force.

Career snapshot - and a new home in Philadelphia

James went No. 1 overall to the Cleveland Cavaliers straight out of high school in 2003 and never looked back, winning Rookie of the Year and turning a franchise into a contender almost overnight. He would go on to win back-to-back titles with the Miami Heat (2012, 2013), deliver Cleveland its first-ever championship with a famous 3-1 Finals comeback in 2016, and add a fourth ring with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020.

In July 2026, he started another chapter. After eight seasons in Los Angeles, James signed with the Philadelphia 76ers on a two-year, USD $8 million veteran's-minimum deal with a second-year player option - walking away from the Lakers to chase a fifth championship alongside Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and fellow new arrival Jaylen Brown. The move sends him back to the Eastern Conference, the side of the bracket from which he once reached eight straight NBA Finals.

Teams: Cleveland Cavaliers (2003-2010, 2014-2018), Miami Heat (2010-2014), Los Angeles Lakers (2018-2026), Philadelphia 76ers (2026-present).

Playing style

‍ LeBron is a point forward in the truest sense - a player whose first instinct is to make everyone around him better. He can bully smaller defenders in the post, push the break like a guard, and switch across positions when he chooses to spend the energy. As he has settled into a secondary role late in his career, his passing has become the through-line: even at 41, he averaged 7.2 assists a game last season while posting a 59% true shooting mark, right in line with his career average.

Why James made the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team

Sustained excellence is the whole case. Nobody has stayed this good for this long. James has carried four different eras of teammates to the Finals, redefined what a modern superstar looks like - scorer, playmaker, rebounder and defender in one body - and done it while building a cultural footprint few athletes in any sport can match, from the I Promise School in his hometown of Akron to his voice on social issues. The scoring record is the headline. The longevity is the miracle.

Lebron James and Australia's Matthew Dellavedova

When Cleveland finally broke through in 2016, Matthew Dellavedova was right in the thick of it. The undrafted kid from Maryborough had carved out a genuine rotation role on LeBron James' Cavaliers, and together they pulled off the impossible - roaring back from 3-1 down against a record-setting 73-win Golden State Warriors to win the Finals in seven games, the first team in NBA history to do it.

The title ended Cleveland's 52-year wait for a championship in any major sport, cemented LeBron as a hometown hero for good, and handed Delly a ring alongside the best player on the planet. For an Australian who had gone undrafted out of Saint Mary's, sharing the mountaintop with LeBron James was about as far from the script as it gets.

Five fast facts

1. Became the NBA's all-time leading scorer in February 2023, passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
2. First player in NBA history to reach 10,000 points, 10,000 rebounds and 10,000 assists.
3. Shared an NBA floor with his son, Bronny James, in 2024 - the league's first father-son duo.
4. Two-time Olympic gold medallist with Team USA (2008, 2012).
5. Became the first active NBA player worth USD $1 billion, per Forbes, in 2022.

Career highlights

• 2003: Drafted No. 1 overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers
• 2004: NBA Rookie of the Year
• 2007: Leads Cleveland to its first NBA Finals
• 2009: Wins his first NBA MVP 2012: First championship and Finals MVP, with Miami
• 2016: Ends Cleveland's title drought, storming back from 3-1 down in the Finals
• 2020: Championship and Finals MVP with the Lakers
• 2023: Becomes the NBA's all-time leading scorer
• 2024: Becomes the first father to play alongside his son in an NBA game
• 2026: Signs with the Philadelphia 76ers, leaving the Lakers after eight seasons to chase a fifth ring

The record book

• 4x NBA champion (2012, 2013, 2016, 2020)
• 4x NBA Finals MVP (2012, 2013, 2016, 2020)
• 4x NBA Most Valuable Player (2009, 2010, 2012, 2013)
• 20x NBA All-Star
• 3x NBA All-Star Game MVP (2006, 2008, 2018)
• 13x All-NBA First Team
• 3x All-NBA Second Team
• 4x All-NBA Third Team
• 5x NBA All-Defensive First Team
• NBA Rookie of the Year (2004)
• NBA scoring champion (2008)
• NBA assists leader (2020)

Statistical milestones

• The NBA's all-time leading scorer, and the first player to pass 40,000 career points
• Only player in league history with 40,000 points, 10,000 rebounds and 10,000 assists
• The all-time leader in playoff points scored
• Holds the record for most consecutive games scoring in double figures
• Owns the most 30-point triple-doubles in NBA history

At 41, LeBron James is no longer the first option - and he no longer needs to be. In Philadelphia he joins a genuine contender built to let him pick his spots, chase a fifth ring, and keep adding to a resume that already reads like the ceiling of the sport.

King James is not done. He has just changed his address.

NBA's Greatest of All-Time List: Click the player's name to read their profile