LeBron James loves horror movies, loves them so much he has a tattoo of his “Big Three” villains on his thigh. There’s “Nightmare on Elm Street’s” Freddy Krueger. There’s “Halloween’s” Michael Myers. And there’s “Friday the 13th’s” Jason Voorhees. If anyone appreciates a good scare, it’s the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.
Yet there wasn’t some killer behind a mask or a scarred-up monster with a knife that caused James to yelp Christmas night in San Francisco. The Lakers had just beaten the Golden State Warriors during a game in which James was fantastic when he was reminded of the terrifying monster waiting for him in five days.
Hiding behind the door on Monday, Dec. 30, James would be 40 years old. Reminded of it, he jokingly screamed.
“Five days,” he exclaimed, a shiver maybe running down his spine.
In 1987, legendary L.A. Times columnist Jim Murray wrote about athletes staring down the bad guy that eventually gets all of them: Father Time.
“A great heavyweight champion at 40 is pathetic to watch,” Murray wrote. “He sees the opening but can’t get the punch there in time. A great tennis champion can’t get to the net anymore. A great quarterback has to throw sidearm.”
ONLY THE rarest forms of greatness can outlast it. In 1987, Murray was writing about Nolan Ryan, who would go on to pitch another 1,000 innings over six more seasons. Tom Brady played six seasons after turning 40. And now James takes on the challenge of not just reaching the milestone but powering through it, living up to the high standards he’s set for himself over 22 seasons.
The end, James will admit, is coming. But it’s not here yet.
According to basketball-reference.com’s data, only 23 players have been in the NBA for seasons when they were 40 or older by Jan. 31. James will be the 24th.
Most of the list is littered with backup big men — Robert Parish, Dikembe Mutombo and Kevin Willis all played into their 40s. Forward Vince Carter proved to be a key role player for multiple seasons after 40.
As far as frontline contributors go, only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and John Stockton were able to truly thrive after 40. James is set to outdo all them.
Players 37 years or older have scored 35 points or more after their 37th birthday 76 times in NBA history. Kobe Bryant did it three times. Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone each did it eight times. And Michael Jordan did it 12 times.
LeBron James has done it 34 times.
NBA players over the age of 33 have accounted for 242 triple-doubles. James has nearly a quarter of them (58). Malone is the oldest player to ever have a triple-double at 40 years and 127 days old. James has had 11 triple-doubles since turning 39.
THERE ARE dozens of stats just like this.
