LeBron James has been in the NBA for 12 seasons. He’s won 2 NBA titles and 4 MVPs. He has made 11 All-Star games in 12 seasons. He’s been to 6 NBA Finals (2-4 record) and won the Finals MVP award twice.
**Through 12 seasons, LeBron’s VORP (value over replacement player) is the highest in NBA history. LeBron is 6.9% ahead of Michael Jordan in this category and the two are more than 15% ahead of the rest of the field. LeBron has led the league in VORP in 8 of his 12 seasons.
**LeBron has accumulated 178.9 win shares over the first 12 seasons of his career. That puts him in pretty good company. Only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Jordan had more in their first 12 seasons.
Most Wins Shares
First 12 Seasons, NBA History
Win Shares
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 205.1
Michael Jordan 188.7
LeBron James 178.9
**While VORP and win shares are cumulative, rate metrics are helpful putting LeBron into context as well. His 27.7 PER (Player Efficiency Rating) ranks third all-time among players through their first 12 seasons. He’s led the league 6 times in 12 seasons.
Highest PER
First 12 Seasons, NBA History
PER
Michael Jordan 29.4
Shaquille O’Neal 28.1
LeBron James 27.7
**LeBron has revolutionized the forward position. His assist percentage of 34.5% through 12 seasons is higher than all-time great point guards, such as Gary Payton, Tiny Archibald and Allen Iverson.
Comparing him to his peers at the forward position shows the huge disparity between LeBron and other forwards in terms of assist percentage.
Highest Assist Percentage Among Forwards
First 12 Seasons, NBA History
Assist Pct
LeBron James 34.5%
Grant Hill 26.7%
Tracy McGrady 26.7%
Larry Bird 24.6%
At this point in his career, LeBron James is on pace to go down as one of the top three players in the history of the game.
Peter Newmann is an analyst and writer who spent 10 years at ESPN, 8 as the NBA senior researcher working 24/7 on the league. He wrote game notes for crews, articles for ESPN.com, analysis for studio shows, and regularly assisted reporters and writers. Follow him on Twitter, and check out his Web site, www.peternewmann.com.