LeBron James, who turned 41 years old on Dec. 30, averaged 20.9 points per game last season. Before him, the most points a player had ever averaged at age 41 was 10.1.
James, who signed with the Philadelphia 76ers Monday on a two-year deal worth $8 million, has broken the typical NBA aging curve. In the 2021-22 season, he became the oldest player to ever average at least 30 points per game when he did so after turning 37. He then proceeded to break the record for most points per game by a player at age 38, age 39, age 40 and age 41 over the subsequent four seasons.
Only three players in NBA history have even played significant regular-season minutes at age 42, which James will do this year barring injury. Vince Carter was the most productive, averaging 7.4 points per game in 17.5 minutes for the 2018-19 Atlanta Hawks. Robert Parish averaged 3.9 points in 1995-96, and Kevin Willis averaged 3.0 in 2004-05.
Dikembe Mutombo and Udonis Haslem were both in the NBA at age 42 but barely played (although Haslem memorably scored 24 points in a Game 82 explosion). Kareem Abdul-Jabbar turned 42 just before the end of the 1988-89 regular season and averaged 11.1 points during the 1989 postseason as the Los Angeles Lakers went to the Finals.
