"As long as I want to play, I can break 40,000 points before James." There are 4 NBA players who really dare to say that

At the end of the 24-25 season, James' total career score has exceeded 50,000 points, including 42,184 points in the regular season and 8,289 points in the playoffs. Behind this historical record is James' super health in his 21-year career, a stable output of 27 points per game, and the "Iron Man" physique who has never suffered a devastating injury - You should know that in the 79 years of NBA history, only 8 people can break through the 30,000 point mark, and 40,000 points was once regarded as an "impossible task." But few people know that before James, there were four NBA legendary stars who could have the confidence to say, "As long as I want, I can get 40,000 points earlier than James."

Jabbar: "Tian Gou" with 1,600 points left, you can realize your dream in two more years. Before James surpassed him, he was the "synonym" of the NBA's historical scoring champion. He scored a total of 38,387 points in his career, only 1,613 points away from 40,000 points - this gap may be just a season of scoring for him at his peak, but even when he retired, he still has the ability to fill this vacancy. The 1988-89 season was Jabbar's last season. At that time, he was 42 years old, but he was still selected for the All-Star lineup, averaged 10.1 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, and maintained a shooting percentage of 47.5%. You know, although the pace of the NBA was slow at that time, a 42-year-old veteran was able to score steadily with double-digit scores, which was enough to prove that his competitive state had not declined significantly.

"Tian Gou"'s unique skill is getting more and more demonic as you get older, and you can score stably without relying on physical confrontation. The NBA competitive environment in the 1980s was relatively mild, lacking the high-intensity physical confrontation in the 1990s, nor the fast-paced consumption today. If Jabbar was willing to play two more seasons, even if he only appeared as a substitute, he would contribute 8-10 points per game, and scored 1,600 points in two years would not be difficult. It’s not that he was unable to achieve 40,000 points, but he chose to abdicate at the age of 42. After all, at that time, he had already held 6 championship rings and 6 MVPs. There were no regrets in the honor book. 40,000 points were just icing on the cake for him.

Karl Malone: ​​The iron body of the "postman" can break the record in three more years

Karl Malone's nickname "postman", perfectly interprets his career - in 19 seasons, he appeared on time like a postman and never missed for a long time due to injury. In his 19-year career, he missed 13 games in his last season (2003-04 season), and played at least 74 games in the rest of the season. This attendance rate is a miracle in the high-intensity inside confrontation. What's even more terrifying is that his scoring ability has never declined with age: he averaged 23.2 points per game at the age of 36, and still gave 20.6 points at the age of 38. Even when he lost the championship in the Lakers at the age of 39, he averaged 13.2 points per game and shot 45.2% from the field.

Marron's total career score was 36,928 points, and the difference between 40,000 points was 3,072 points. With his 39-year-old state, if he is not obsessed with winning the championship, he will go to a weak team to score points, and have sufficient shooting rights in each game, and it is not difficult to average 10 points per game - in this way, he can score more than 900 points in 3 seasons and easily break through 40,000 points in 4 seasons. More importantly, after Malone retired, some teams still extended an olive branch to him: in 2005, the Spurs invited him to come back and partner Duncan to compete for the championship. At that time, he was 42 years old and still maintained his training habits and his physical condition was enough to support the game. The reason why he failed to score 40,000 points was because he was disheartened after losing the championship in 2004 and chose to end his career. If he is willing to "let go of his obsession", with his iron body and stable scoring ability, it is no empty talk to achieve 40,000 points earlier than James.

Chamberlain: The casualness of the "Basketball Emperor", there is no suspense if you play seriously

Wilt Chamberlain is the most "dominate" scorer in NBA history, no doubt. He scored 100 points in a single game, averaged 50.4 points per game in a single season, and ranked first in scoring for seven times. Even if he transformed into a passer in his later career, he could still average 24.3 points per game. But this "basketball emperor"'s career has a bit of casualness in "game life" - he scored points in the field during the day and lingered on the off-court at night, and his concentration on the game is far less than that of Jordan and James. Even so, he still scored 31,419 points in 14 seasons. If he hadn't chosen to retire at the age of 36, this number would have increased significantly.

Chamberlain's scoring ability and physical talent are enough to support him in a 40,000-point scoring effort. His average per game was easily scored 30+ at his peak, and even though he transformed in his later career, his scoring efficiency did not decline. If he can focus on basketball like James, retract off-court energy back to the court, and extend his career to 18 seasons. With his average 30.1 points per game in his career, he can score 54,180 points in 18 seasons, and 40,000 points is just a "middle-way station". What's more, Chamberlain was in the NBA in the 1960s and 1970s. Although the game pace was slow, his defensive intensity was far less than that of modern basketball. With his height of 2.16 meters and his super physical ability, the difficulty of scoring was lower than that of James. It’s not that he is incapable of reaching 40,000 points, but he has no obsession with the “scoring record” – for him, basketball is more like an interesting game than a goal that needs to be pursued desperately..

Jordan: "Mr. 40,000 Points"

Michael Jordan is the closest player in NBA history to "perfect". He has won 6 championships, 5 MVPs, and 10 scoring champions in 15 seasons, and has averaged 30.1 points per game in his career. But it was such a "scoring machine" who missed the best chance to score 40,000 points due to retirement in two peak periods. - In 1993, 29-year-old Jordan was at his peak, but chose to retire due to his father's death; in 1998, he retired again at the age of 35, and did not make a brief comeback until 2001. These two retirements delayed his golden score period for at least 5 years in total.

Jordan's total career score was 32,292 points. Without these two retirements, his score would have shown a "crushing" growth. The age of 29-34 is the golden peak of the player. With Jordan's average of 30 points per game, he can score 8,000 points in 5 seasons (calculated based on 82 games per season, 410 games in 5 seasons, with a total score of 12,300 points. Even if the number of games missing due to injuries is deducted, 8,000 points can be easily achieved). In this way, his total career score can exceed 40,000 points, and his age is likely to be no more than 38 years old when he reaches it, which is earlier than James' 39 years old. More importantly, Jordan's scoring stability is the top in history - he has never had a season that averaged less than 20 points per game, and even when he returned at the age of 40, he averaged 22.9 points per game. It’s not that he is incapable of getting 40,000 points before James, but the “choice beyond basketball” made him miss this opportunity.

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