LeBron James accused of stat-padding by not retiring

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LeBron James has been accused by American Fox Sports commentator Ric Bucher of stat-padding rather than retiring.

Los Angeles Lakers forward James became the oldest player to record a triple-double at 41 years, 44 days old on Feb 13, 2026 (AEDT) against the Dallas Mavericks with 28 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds.

“LeBron James has stayed in games to reach statistical milestones so often now that it almost feels routine,” Bucher said on On the Ball.

“The latest example was when he became the oldest player to record a triple-double. I can’t even remember who the opponent was — only that the game was already out of hand and there was no real reason for him to still be on the floor.

“At one point, it looked like (teammate) Austin Reaves grabbed a couple of rebounds that LeBron was chasing so he could complete the triple-double and then sub out. Seeing a 41-year-old remain in a decided game just to secure an extra rebound — and a place in the record books — feels like stat chasing.

“Moments like that can undermine the meaning of the statistical achievement itself. And with LeBron often saying he has 'never cheated the game', it raises a broader point: not just with him, but across the league today, some declarations can start to feel like confessions.”

James has the fifth most triple-doubles in NBA history with 152 (123 in the regular season and 29 in the playoffs).

He is also No.1 in All-Time Regular Season Points (43,127), All-Time Total Points (Reg + Playoffs): 1st (first to exceed 50,000), All-Time Field Goals Made, surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in March 2026 and is first in All-Time Playoff Points.

LeBron James Regular Season Statistics

LeBron James — NBA Per Game Statistics (Regular Season)

+---------+-----+------+-----+----+----+------+-----+------+-----+-----+------+-----+------+-----+
| Season  | Age | Team | Pos | G  | GS |  MP  | FG% | 3P%  | FT% | TRB | AST  | STL | BLK  | PTS |
+---------+-----+------+-----+----+----+------+-----+------+-----+-----+------+-----+------+-----+
| 2003-04 | 19  | CLE  | SG  | 79 | 79 | 39.5 | .417| .290 | .754| 5.5 | 5.9  | 1.6 | 0.7  |20.9 |
| 2004-05 | 20  | CLE  | SF  | 80 | 80 | 42.4 | .472| .351 | .750| 7.4 | 7.2  | 2.2 | 0.7  |27.2 |
| 2005-06 | 21  | CLE  | SF  | 79 | 79 | 42.5 | .480| .335 | .738| 7.0 | 6.6  | 1.6 | 0.8  |31.4 |
| 2006-07 | 22  | CLE  | SF  | 78 | 78 | 40.9 | .476| .319 | .698| 6.7 | 6.0  | 1.6 | 0.7  |27.3 |
| 2007-08 | 23  | CLE  | SF  | 75 | 74 | 40.4 | .484| .315 | .712| 7.9 | 7.2  | 1.8 | 1.1  |30.0 |
| 2008-09 | 24  | CLE  | SF  | 81 | 81 | 37.7 | .489| .344 | .780| 7.6 | 7.2  | 1.7 | 1.1  |28.4 |
| 2009-10 | 25  | CLE  | SF  | 76 | 76 | 39.0 | .503| .333 | .767| 7.3 | 8.6  | 1.6 | 1.0  |29.7 |
| 2010-11 | 26  | MIA  | SF  | 79 | 79 | 38.8 | .510| .330 | .759| 7.5 | 7.0  | 1.6 | 0.6  |26.7 |
| 2011-12 | 27  | MIA  | SF  | 62 | 62 | 37.5 | .531| .362 | .771| 7.9 | 6.2  | 1.9 | 0.8  |27.1 |
| 2012-13 | 28  | MIA  | PF  | 76 | 76 | 37.9 | .565| .406 | .753| 8.0 | 7.3  | 1.7 | 0.9  |26.8 |
| 2013-14 | 29  | MIA  | PF  | 77 | 77 | 37.7 | .567| .379 | .750| 6.9 | 6.3  | 1.6 | 0.3  |27.1 |
| 2014-15 | 30  | CLE  | SF  | 69 | 69 | 36.1 | .488| .354 | .710| 6.0 | 7.4  | 1.6 | 0.7  |25.3 |
| 2015-16 | 31  | CLE  | SF  | 76 | 76 | 35.6 | .520| .309 | .731| 7.4 | 6.8  | 1.4 | 0.6  |25.3 |
| 2016-17 | 32  | CLE  | SF  | 74 | 74 | 37.8 | .548| .363 | .674| 8.6 | 8.7  | 1.2 | 0.6  |26.4 |
| 2017-18 | 33  | CLE  | PF  | 82 | 82 | 36.9 | .542| .367 | .731| 8.6 | 9.1  | 1.4 | 0.9  |27.5 |
| 2018-19 | 34  | LAL  | SF  | 55 | 55 | 35.2 | .510| .339 | .665| 8.5 | 8.3  | 1.3 | 0.6  |27.4 |
| 2019-20 | 35  | LAL  | PG  | 67 | 67 | 34.6 | .493| .348 | .693| 7.8 |10.2  | 1.2 | 0.5  |25.3 |
| 2020-21 | 36  | LAL  | PG  | 45 | 45 | 33.4 | .513| .365 | .698| 7.7 | 7.8  | 1.1 | 0.6  |25.0 |
| 2021-22 | 37  | LAL  | C   | 56 | 56 | 37.2 | .524| .359 | .756| 8.2 | 6.2  | 1.3 | 1.1  |30.3 |
| 2022-23 | 38  | LAL  | PF  | 55 | 54 | 35.5 | .500| .321 | .768| 8.3 | 6.8  | 0.9 | 0.6  |28.9 |
| 2023-24 | 39  | LAL  | PF  | 71 | 71 | 35.3 | .540| .410 | .750| 7.3 | 8.3  | 1.3 | 0.5  |25.7 |
| 2024-25 | 40  | LAL  | SF  | 70 | 70 | 34.9 | .513| .376 | .782| 7.8 | 8.2  | 1.0 | 0.6  |24.4 |
| 2025-26 | 41  | LAL  | SF  | 45 | 45 | 33.1 | .505| .310 | .743| 5.7 | 7.0  | 1.1 | 0.6  |21.4 |
+---------+-----+------+-----+----+----+------+-----+------+-----+-----+------+-----+------+-----+

LeBron James Playoffs Statistics

+---------+-----+------+-----+----+----+------+-----+------+-----+-----+------+-----+------+-----+
| Season  | Age | Team | Pos | G  | GS |  MP  | FG% | 3P%  | FT% | TRB | AST  | STL | BLK  | PTS |
+---------+-----+------+-----+----+----+------+-----+------+-----+-----+------+-----+------+-----+
| 2005-06 | 21  | CLE  | SF  | 13 | 13 | 46.5 | .476| .333 | .737| 8.1 | 5.8  | 1.4 | 0.7  |30.8 |
| 2006-07 | 22  | CLE  | SF  | 20 | 20 | 44.7 | .416| .280 | .755| 8.1 | 8.0  | 1.7 | 0.5  |25.1 |
| 2007-08 | 23  | CLE  | SF  | 13 | 13 | 42.5 | .411| .257 | .731| 7.8 | 7.6  | 1.8 | 1.3  |28.2 |
| 2008-09 | 24  | CLE  | SF  | 14 | 14 | 41.4 | .510| .333 | .749| 9.1 | 7.3  | 1.6 | 0.9  |35.3 |
| 2009-10 | 25  | CLE  | SF  | 11 | 11 | 41.8 | .502| .400 | .733| 9.3 | 7.6  | 1.7 | 1.8  |29.1 |
| 2010-11 | 26  | MIA  | SF  | 21 | 21 | 43.9 | .466| .353 | .763| 8.4 | 5.9  | 1.7 | 1.2  |23.7 |
| 2011-12 | 27  | MIA  | SF  | 23 | 23 | 42.7 | .500| .259 | .739| 9.7 | 5.6  | 1.9 | 0.7  |30.3 |
| 2012-13 | 28  | MIA  | PF  | 23 | 23 | 41.7 | .491| .375 | .777| 8.4 | 6.6  | 1.8 | 0.8  |25.9 |
| 2013-14 | 29  | MIA  | PF  | 20 | 20 | 38.2 | .565| .407 | .806| 7.1 | 4.8  | 1.8 | 0.6  |27.4 |
| 2014-15 | 30  | CLE  | SF  | 20 | 20 | 42.2 | .417| .227 | .731|11.3 | 8.5  | 1.7 | 1.1  |30.1 |
| 2015-16 | 31  | CLE  | SF  | 21 | 21 | 39.1 | .525| .340 | .661| 9.5 | 7.6  | 2.3 | 1.3  |26.3 |
| 2016-17 | 32  | CLE  | SF  | 18 | 18 | 41.3 | .565| .411 | .698| 9.1 | 7.8  | 1.9 | 1.3  |32.8 |
| 2017-18 | 33  | CLE  | PF  | 22 | 22 | 41.9 | .539| .342 | .746| 9.1 | 9.0  | 1.4 | 1.0  |34.0 |
| 2019-20 | 35  | LAL  | PG  | 21 | 21 | 36.3 | .560| .370 | .720|10.8 | 8.8  | 1.2 | 0.9  |27.6 |
| 2020-21 | 36  | LAL  | PG  | 6  | 6  | 37.3 | .474| .375 | .609| 7.2 | 8.0  | 1.5 | 0.3  |23.3 |
| 2022-23 | 38  | LAL  | PF  | 16 | 16 | 38.7 | .498| .264 | .761| 9.9 | 6.5  | 1.1 | 1.1  |24.5 |
| 2023-24 | 39  | LAL  | PF  | 5  | 5  | 40.8 | .566| .385 | .739| 6.8 | 8.8  | 2.4 | 1.0  |27.8 |
| 2024-25 | 40  | LAL  | SF  | 5  | 5  | 40.8 | .489| .357 | .775| 9.0 | 5.6  | 2.0 | 1.8  |25.4 |
+---------+-----+------+-----+----+----+------+-----+------+-----+-----+------+-----+------+-----+

LeBron James Combined Statistics

+------------------+-----+-----+------+-----+------+-----+-----+------+-----+------+-----+
| Split            |  G  |  MP | FG%  | 3P% | FT%  | TRB | AST | STL  | BLK | TOV  | PTS |
+------------------+-----+-----+------+-----+------+-----+-----+------+-----+------+-----+
| Regular Season   |1607 |37.7 | .506 | .348| .737 | 7.5 | 7.4 | 1.5  | 0.7 | 3.5  |26.8 |
| Playoffs         |292  |41.3 | .496 | .333| .741 | 9.0 | 7.2 | 1.7  | 1.0 | 3.6  |28.4 |
+------------------+-----+-----+------+-----+------+-----+-----+------+-----+------+-----+

LeBron and Bronny James made NBA history as the first father-son duo to play together in a regular-season game on October 22, 2024. Bronny checked in for the Los Angeles Lakers against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second quarter of the 110-103 win.

Bronny’s drafting by the Lakers in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft has been heavily criticised and branded as nepotism.

Lakers boss Jeanie Buss reportedly “felt slighted by James’ response after the franchise drafted his son”.

While Bucher accuses James of playing to pad his stats, super agent Rich Paul said the four-time NBA champion and four-time NBA Finals MVP simply wanted a fifth ring.

“LeBron wants to compete for a championship,” Rich Paul told ESPN.

“He knows the Lakers are building for the future. He understands that, but he values a realistic chance of winning it all. We are very appreciative of the partnership that we've had for eight years with Jeanie [Buss] and Rob [Pelinka] and consider the Lakers as a critical part of his career.”

Without doubt, James' production has been in steady decline as his career sunsets.

+----------------+-------+------+-----+------+-----+------+-----+------+-----+------+
| Career Phase   |   G   |  MP  | FG% | 3P% | FT%  | TRB | AST  | STL | BLK  | PTS  |
+----------------+-------+------+-----+------+-----+------+-----+------+-----+------+
| Prime (24–33)  |  690  | 38.4 | .530| .356 | .742 | 7.9 | 7.5  | 1.6 | 0.8  | 27.5 |
| Late (34–39)   |  294  | 35.2 | .514| .357 | .720 | 8.0 | 7.5  | 1.2 | 0.6  | 27.4 |
| Age 40+        |  115  | 34.2 | .510| .349 | .765 | 6.9 | 7.8  | 1.0 | 0.6  | 23.2 |
+----------------+-------+------+-----+------+-----+------+-----+------+-----+------+

‍

• Scoring Peak: Prime years sit at 27.5 ppg with elite efficiency (.530 FG).
• Playmaking Stability: Assists remain remarkably consistent into late career (7.5 → 7.8).
• Rebounding Drop at 40+: Falls from ~8 per game to 6.9 with reduced minutes.
• Efficiency Longevity: FG% only declines marginally from .530 → .510 across 15+ years.
• Volume Adjustment: Points dip significantly at Age 40+ (23.2 ppg) as usage moderates.

But the Lakers are 41-25, first in the Pacific Division and starting to roll in the back half of the 2025-26 season, with the playoffs about six weeks away. They’ve won four straight, the last being against Australian star Josh Giddey’s Chicago Bulls 142-130 on Friday, March 13, 2026 (AEDT).

“He wants to do everything possible to help this team win,” head coach JJ Redick said.

“He understands the importance of making sure Luka and AR can be at their best...It speaks a lot to how much he cares about this team and his teammates and how much he wants to win.”

The Lakers are undoubtedly Luka Dončić’s team now, with the All-NBA superstar averaging 32.9 points, 7.9 rebounds and 8.5 assists while undrafted Austin Reaves is set for a massive contract upgrade this offseason. Reaves is pouring in 23.9 points, grabbing 4.8 boards and collecting 5.5 assists every time out.

Whether Bucher’s hot take is right or James is chasing another championship before Father Time has its final say, only James can answer that.

But at 41 and still averaging 21.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 7.0 assists while shooting 54.9% eFG is remarkable.