Image Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

LeBron James’ 40-ball reignites the “GOAT” debate

LeBron James has been breaking records right and left. A 40-point bomb against the Portland Trail Blazers made him the only 40-year old with multiple 40-point games in NBA history.

Image Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Lakers superstar, LeBron James has been breaking records right and left. A 40-point bomb against the Portland Trail Blazers made him the only 40-year old with multiple 40-point games in NBA history. This was his 18th 40-point regular season performance in Lakers jersey which puts him sixth in franchise history ahead of Anthony Davis (15).

LeBron James tied Allen Iverson for sixth-most 40-point games in NBA history with his 79th career performance. However, James’s 40-ball reignited the “Goat” debate against former legends like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. NBA fans were quick to target James’ games played in the regular season to mock his new record. The forward is still far behind Michael Jordan (173) and Kobe Bryant (122) record of most 40-point games.

pic.twitter.com/KWEo16xDOm
— moose (@roadto80pct) February 21, 2025

James’ fans were quick to defend him against the allegations with the field-goal attempted data. Michael Jordan had attempted 30+ field-goals in 132 regular season games and Kobe Bryant had 109 games. On the other hand, LeBron James only has 34 games where he has attempted 30+ field-goals in a single game.

Games with 30+fga:

Jordan – 132
Kobe – 109
Harden – 39
Iverson – 98
LeBron – 34

Games with 25+fga and 13+fta:

Jordan – 99
Kobe – 78
Harden – 60
Iverson – 98
LeBron – 39

Just providing some context for yall https://t.co/aHul4RjjXx
— NBAStatGuy (@NBAStatGuy_) February 21, 2025

LeBron James 40-point performance against the Portland Trail Blazers

In the absence of Luka Doncic, LeBron James led the Lakers to a 110-102 victory. He scored 16 points in the first-half on 7-11 shooting combined with two free-throws.

As the Trail Blazers made a comeback, James ended the third quarter with 12 points on 3-8 shooting and four free-throws. The forward closed out the game with 12 points in the fourth-quarter as well shooting 4-5 from the field and two free-throws. His 40th point came in the final seconds of the game when Jerami Grant’s foul sent him to the free-throw line.

He ended the game with 40 points, eight rebounds and four assists while shooting 14/24 from the field (58.3%).

LeBron James

Los Angeles Lakers

Michael Jordan

Suryansh Kumar

NBA/WNBA Writer

nba

wnba

Hello, my name is Suryansh, and I write NBA/WNBA content for ThePlayoffs. I love sports, which is why I write and I love the NBA because of the stats. My aim is to find unique stats and perspectives to provide my readers with another angle on sports.