The knock on the 18-year-old from Akron named LeBron James was that he just couldn’t shoot the jumper when he first entered the league. He was athletic, sure–maybe more athletic than anybody we’ve ever seen in the NBA at that age. But he couldn’t shoot it with any consistency, especially from 3-point range.
That’s what the critics and pundits said roughly 16 years ago while the young king connected on only 29% of his 3-point field goals and averaged less than one made triple per game as a rookie with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Last night, however–during the Los Angeles Lakers 114-104 win over the San Antonio Spurs–LeBron connected on 4-of-7 field-goals from beyond the arc while finishing with 33 points. In doing so, he moved past the sharp-shooting Peja Stojakovic for No. 18 on the NBA’s career 3-pointers list.
LeBron made 111 triples last season with the Lakers. So far this season he’s connected on 34 field-goals from deep. If he were to finish the year with 111 made triples again, James would move into 14th place with 1,838 made 3-pointers. That would put him just behind his good friend and former teammate, J.R. Smith.
In all likelihood, LeBron will finish his career in the top-10 on the all-time 3-pointers made list. If he connected on 111 triples in each of the next three seasons–after hypothetically finishing this year at 1,838–he would have roughly 2,171 made 3-pointers. That number would be good for No. 8 overall on this list which is not too bad for a kid who couldn’t shoot when he first turned pro.
