LeBron stat shows his durability and Thunder's bright future

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James. Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

Unique LeBron James stat highlights Lakers star's durability and Thunder's bright future

By Jeff Smith | Last updated 11/30/23

LeBron James has been the prime example of how to defy the odds to this point in his career. The 38-year-old future Hall of Famer has been in the NBA since 2003 and is still playing at an All-Star level while logging huge minutes every night. While there's no debating his durability, one incredible stat that emerged during the Lakers' game against the Thunder on Thursday night highlighted the fact while also acting as a tip of the cap for how bright Oklahoma City's future is.

After running the numbers, Thunder reporter Royce Young highlighted a cool stat explaining that James has played more regular-season minutes over the span of his career than the entire 18-player Thunder roster. The breakdown gave the edge to James by a total of 54,693 to 53,853 minutes.

A very important stat to report that I for some reason spent time looking up:

LeBron James has played more career regular season minutes (54,693) than the entire 18-man Thunder roster combined (53,853).
— Royce Young (@royceyoung) December 1, 2023

While this number may have changed slightly over the first month of the NBA season, heading into the year, Basketball Insiders detailed that the Thunder actually didn't even have the youngest team in the league. Per their math, Oklahoma City checked in at No. 3 prior to the season, with an average age of 24.1.

The two teams narrowly ahead of the Thunder? The San Antonio Spurs, with an average age of 24, and the Portland Trail Blazers, who checked in at 23.9 years of age.

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