Looking at LeBron James' stats in his rookie year in he which showed glimpses of greatness
As LeBron James' continues to outperform expectations in his 20th season in the association, we take a look at some of the stats from his rookie season which helped many foretell that James would become one of the greatest NBA players of all time.
Drafted first overall in 2003, James, an Ohio native, was selected by none other than the Cleveland Cavaliers and was, at the time, considered the greatest NBA prospect since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, if not the greatest.
The key to breaking down LeBron James' stats is realizing his greatest strength lies not in one particular category of the traditional boxscore but rather encompasses the entire gamut of traditional stats.
James' impact can be seen through scoring, passing, rebounding, steals and blocks as he ranks among the best in all these categories. James is on the brink of passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA's all-time leader in points. Besides points, James ranks top-ten in assists, steals and minutes played.
Due to the length of his career and penchant for passing, James is also the NBA's all-time leader in turnovers.
LeBron James' 2003-04 stats breakdown
LeBron James' stats from his rookie season are extremely poor when looked through the lens of hindsight. James has never averaged less than 25 points per game in his career since, and has not seemed to have regressed as he closes in on 40.
James' stats in his rookie season looked something like this:
While James has led the league in triple-doubles thrice since, his rookie season saw him log no triple-doubles. James came close, logging a 32/10/9 game, a 21/12/8 game and a 34/10/8 game.
James logged 12 double-doubles in his rookie season, with his highest scoring performance coming against the reigning Eastern Conference champions, the New Jersey Nets, against whom he scored 41 points, 13 assists (also a season-high) and 6 rebounds in a winning performance.
James ranks fourth on the list of field-goals attempted that season, the highest among the 2003 rookies. His minutes-per-game load along with the FGA reflects the load he had in Cleveland from the beginning. He also led all rookies in steals per game and minutes per game.
James' field-goal percentage stands out, as he quickly overcome the 41.7% mark next season, and has since outscored his rookie FG% by at least 5.5 percentage points. His scoring, rebounding, passing and three-point percentage all took big leaps in his second season.
His defensive rating of 104 is among his best defensively rated seasons, only narrowly missing out on the top ten. Notably, the 2003-04 season and the current season are the only ones where LeBron has logged a negative net rating. His net rating this year is -1 and in his rookie season was -5.
James' holistic impact on the game has been the cornerstone of his playing-style since his rookie season, and, despite not having the highest points per game, rebounds per game, or assists per game that season, James beat Carmelo Anthony by 38 first-place votes to take home the 2003 Rookie of the Year award.