LeBron James Speaks The Truth

Great quote from LeBron James here, which plays into our blog discussion (see comments) about scoring titles:

“If I really wanted to,” James said, “if I really wanted to be the scoring (champion) every single year — every single year — I could really do it. But it doesn’t matter.”

Just yesterday I wrote about Kevin Durant: “He’s going to win multiple scoring titles, unless LeBron decides to lead the league every year.”

No, scoring titles don’t matter. But wouldn’t it be fun to watch LeBron spend a season trying to score 40 points a game? Wouldn’t it? Wouldn’t you tune in for those games? If LeBron announced before the season, “I want to average 40 this year,” he would be must-see TV every night. Not that he’s not now, but wouldn’t you watch him against the Nets just to see whether he could get 60?

Wilt Chamberlain is the only person to average 40, and he did it twice. Chamberlain has the four highest single-season averages in NBA history, followed by Michael Jordan at 37.1 in 1986-87.

On a gut level, I think LeBron could average 40. But on an cognitive level, it’s hard to imagine anybody averaging 40 when Jordan averaged “only” 37 at the height of his scoring-machine mode. In 1987, the average team attempted about 89 field goals and 30 free throws a game; now, those numbers are 82 and 24. There are fewer possessions per game. So no, LeBron couldn’t average 40; but it would be fun to watch him try.