The NBA has never seen a player play as well as LeBron James has after the age of 38 years old.
To establish a baseline for expectations, we’ve considered Game Score as a measure of efficiency and performance. It’s interesting to note that, historically, players of LeBron’s caliber who continued to play at an elite level after turning 38 have typically peaked around a 25-game score. You also pretty much have to have been an all star level player to even be effective after 38 years old. Those are the players that can remain relevant even with age decline. Even those in many cases struggle to play at a starter level. It’s really for the most part only the all time greats or hall of famers that are able to post high level games.
Examining other legendary players who extended their careers past 38, such as Dirk Nowitzki, Vince Carter, Jason Kidd, Grant Hill, and Manu Ginobili, provides insight into the kind of performances commonly achieved in this age bracket. Notably, these players generally produced game scores around the 25 range.
Witnessing LeBron potentially surpassing these benchmarks and delivering some of the greatest games ever seen by “middle-aged” basketball players adds an intriguing element to the upcoming seasons. By utilizing game scores as a metric, you’ve set the stage for tracking and evaluating LeBron’s performances against the established standards of his esteemed peers in the later stages of their careers. It will undoubtedly be fascinating to witness LeBron’s continued impact on the court and how his performances compare to the impressive games posted by other elite players in their late thirties.
So far this is where we stand as LeBron approaches his 39th birthday later this month. He’s already blown past Jordan in less than a year for the number of 30+ game score performances. These are all of the 30+ game score games by players 38 years and older. The best individual games ever played by middle aged players in the NBA.
age
reb
ast
stl
blk
pts
GS
LeBron
38-017
8
9
0
0
48
44.5
LeBron
38-025
8
7
2
1
46
42.5
LeBron
38-000
10
9
0
1
47
40.3
Malone
39-231
9
7
4
0
40
38.9
Crawford
39-020
5
5
1
1
51
37.9
Kareem
38-292
3
4
1
6
40
37.7
LeBron
38-324
6
8
3
0
37
37.3
Jordan
40-004
10
3
4
1
43
36.8
Jordan
38-315
7
4
3
0
51
35.9
Jordan
38-317
10
7
3
0
45
35.7
Jordan
39-321
12
4
3
0
41
35.4
LeBron
38-003
11
6
1
0
43
34.7
Kareem
38-337
5
8
2
3
34
34.0
Jordan
38-272
7
3
1
0
44
33.3
Kareem
38-296
11
4
0
0
46
33.1
Kareem
38-334
7
3
2
1
43
33.1
Malone
38-137
7
5
1
4
39
32.9
Parish
38-096
7
4
1
4
31
32.3
LeBron
38-016
8
10
1
1
35
32.2
Jordan
38-343
4
7
2
0
41
32.1
Stockton
40-018
2
9
4
0
26
32.0
Jordan
39-349
3
6
1
1
45
31.9
Malone
39-196
6
8
4
2
31
31.9
LeBron
38-029
9
8
0
0
41
31.5
LeBron
38-320
10
12
4
1
28
31.2
Jordan
38-341
8
2
2
0
40
31.1
Duncan
38-300
11
3
1
1
30
30.9
LeBron
38-306
12
7
1
2
35
30.6
Malone
39-107
11
7
3
1
27
30.6
Malone
38-203
14
6
5
2
34
30.5
LeBron
38-039
7
3
3
0
38
30.4
LeBron also has 2 in the playoffs which we believe are the only two plus 30+ game score games in the playoffs as well.
Playoffs
LeBron
38-143
10
9
2
0
40
38.8
LeBron
38-133
9
9
2
1
30
31.9
The tally in the regular season is now LeBron with 10 , Jordan with 8 games, Malone 5, and Kareem 4. The way LeBron is playing right now I would expect another 10 games to be added in the next year and by the time he’s done he may have as many as every other player after 38 years old combined.
