Two of the most unbreakable records in the NBA are LeBron James ' 40,474 (and counting) points and John Stockton 's 15,806 assists. Their achievements are not only testaments to their greatness but also their longevity.
Matt Barnes was asked in a recent interview with Brandon "Scoop B" Robinson which of the two records will likely be matched or eclipsed first. The retired forward unsurprisingly chose James, as he believes the way the game is played now would make it nearly impossible for anyone to rack up the dimes the way Stockton did.
"I think that there's going to be a better chance of breaking LeBron's scoring record, which I think is out of reach because the ball doesn't move the way it used to move," said Barnes .
"It's more one-on-one now. There's not any more of the old-school Chris Pauls and Steve Nashes, the John Stocktons, Magic Johnsons — those kinds of point guards have kind of gone away. There are more scoring guards now. So, if there's any record that's going to be broken, and I don't think LeBron's record is going to be broken, if I had to have me pick one, it would be the scoring record."
The playmaking genius
To Barnes' point, it's difficult to see any player nowadays perform in a similar way as the Utah Jazz legend. It's worth noting that Stockton registered at least 13.6 assists per contest in five consecutive seasons and followed that up with five more years of averaging double-digits in dimes.
What made the Hall of Famer's record even more unreachable is that it was rare to see him sit out contests. He even had more campaigns playing all 82 regular-season meetings than not. His total is so incapable of being matched that Jason Kidd, who is second on the all-time list, would have had to play four more seasons of high production to reach Stock's level.
As Barnes said, today's generation of NBA players has lost pure playmakers like Stockton. So, it looks like the 10-time All-Star's record will be safe for a very long time.
Related: Walt Frazier's GOAT is not Michael Jordan or LeBron James: "If he had Wilt's mindset, he would have had 50,000 points"
A different breed of genius
Of course, that's not to say James' scoring feat won't stand the test of time. At the moment, there is no one else who can likely threaten the record because it would require someone like Luka Doncic to suit up for nearly 20 campaigns.
Another interesting note is that LeBron is an elite floor general himself despite being the league's ultimate scoring leader. Had he focused on channeling the Magic Johnson part of his game, he probably could have been the all-time leader in assists. As it stands, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar is fourth on the list and could even end up overtaking Kidd to finish second.
According to his former Miami Heat coach, Erik Spoelstra, James could chase Stockton's ghost, but he would probably need to play until he is 50 years old to do so. Based on how he has fared in the Association despite nearing 40, the four-time MVP can probably take up the challenge.
Related: "I think he could play until he’s 50 and break both" - Erik Spoelstra likes to see LeBron James also break John Stockton's all-time assist record
Local News
