duncan228
03-11-2009, 05:14 PM
Kobe and LeBron by the numbers (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/basketball/nba/03/11/kobe.lebron.numbers/index.html)
In his latest NBA column, SI.com's Steve Aschburner wonders about the career arc (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/steve_aschburner/03/11/prep.pros/index.html)of the players who turned pro directly out of high school from 1995-2005. Here's a closer look at some of the notable facts and figures that have helped define the two most celebrated preps-to-pros. (All stats through March 10.)
Kobe Bryant
0 -- Number of players besides Kobe who have a no-trade clause.
1 -- Current ranking on list of NBA's most popular jerseys, based on sales at the NBA Store in New York City and NBAStore.com.
1.0000 -- Kobe's Hall of Fame probability, according to Basketball-Reference.com (http://www.basketball-reference.com/about/hof_prob.html).
2 -- Number of players in Lakers history (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Jerry West) with more points than Kobe, who moved ahead of Elgin Baylor on Feb. 22, 2009.
3 -- NBA championships and All-Star Game MVPs, the latter one shy of Bob Pettit's record.
5 -- Career 60-point games, trailing only Wilt Chamberlain (32).
9 -- Consecutive 40-point games (during the 2002-03 season), tied for third most in NBA history.
11 -- Consecutive All-Star Game starts.
24 -- Career 50-point games, ranking behind only Wilt Chamberlain (118) and Michael Jordan (31).
35.4 -- Scoring average in 2005-06, the eight-highest total in NBA history.
54.8 -- Points per 48 minutes of "clutch time" (five-point game in the last five minutes of regulation or overtime) in 2008-09, best in the league, according to 82games.com. (http://www.82games.com/0809/CSORT11.HTM)
61 -- Points scored at New York on Feb. 2, 2009, a Madison Square Garden record.
81 -- Points scored against Toronto on Jan. 22, 2006, the second-highest-scoring game in NBA history.
23,380 -- Career points, 18th all time; Kobe, in his 928th game over 13 seasons, recently passed Robert Parish, who needed 1,611 games over 21 seasons to collect 23,334 points.
LeBron James
0 -- Playoff-series victories for Cleveland in the 10 seasons immediately before LeBron arrived.
0.999 -- LeBron's Hall of Fame probability, according to Basketball-Reference.com.
1 -- Number of appearances on Vogue and GQ covers.
2 -- Players currently with a more popular jersey (Kobe and Kevin Garnett).
5 -- Playoff-series victories for Cleveland in LeBron's first five seasons.
17 -- "Game-winning shots" (24 seconds or less left, team either tied or down one or two points) from the start of the 2003-04 season to Feb. 2, 2009, an NBA high that includes playoff games, according to 82games.com. (http://82games.com/gamewinningshots.htm)
18 -- Difference in wins for the Cavs from their last season without LeBron (17) to his rookie year (35).
24-35 -- Age, in years and days, on Feb. 3, 2009, when he became the fastest player to reach 12,000 points.
25 -- Consecutive points scored for his team to close out a 109-107 victory against the Pistons in Game 5 of the 2007 Eastern Conference finals.
27-6-6 -- Point, rebound and assist thresholds reached the past four seasons, joining Oscar Robertson as the only players to accomplish the feat.
27.4 -- Career scoring average, tops among active players.
30.0 -- Points per game in 2007-08, making him the first Cav to win a scoring title.
40.6 -- Career average for minutes; only Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Oscar Robertson and Allen Iverson have averaged that much in a career.
54.2 -- Points per 48 minutes of clutch time in 2008-09, second to Kobe's 54.8, according to 82games.com.
446 -- Consecutive games to start his career with at least one assist, snapped Feb. 26, 2009, in Houston.
In his latest NBA column, SI.com's Steve Aschburner wonders about the career arc (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/steve_aschburner/03/11/prep.pros/index.html)of the players who turned pro directly out of high school from 1995-2005. Here's a closer look at some of the notable facts and figures that have helped define the two most celebrated preps-to-pros. (All stats through March 10.)
Kobe Bryant
0 -- Number of players besides Kobe who have a no-trade clause.
1 -- Current ranking on list of NBA's most popular jerseys, based on sales at the NBA Store in New York City and NBAStore.com.
1.0000 -- Kobe's Hall of Fame probability, according to Basketball-Reference.com (http://www.basketball-reference.com/about/hof_prob.html).
2 -- Number of players in Lakers history (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Jerry West) with more points than Kobe, who moved ahead of Elgin Baylor on Feb. 22, 2009.
3 -- NBA championships and All-Star Game MVPs, the latter one shy of Bob Pettit's record.
5 -- Career 60-point games, trailing only Wilt Chamberlain (32).
9 -- Consecutive 40-point games (during the 2002-03 season), tied for third most in NBA history.
11 -- Consecutive All-Star Game starts.
24 -- Career 50-point games, ranking behind only Wilt Chamberlain (118) and Michael Jordan (31).
35.4 -- Scoring average in 2005-06, the eight-highest total in NBA history.
54.8 -- Points per 48 minutes of "clutch time" (five-point game in the last five minutes of regulation or overtime) in 2008-09, best in the league, according to 82games.com. (http://www.82games.com/0809/CSORT11.HTM)
61 -- Points scored at New York on Feb. 2, 2009, a Madison Square Garden record.
81 -- Points scored against Toronto on Jan. 22, 2006, the second-highest-scoring game in NBA history.
23,380 -- Career points, 18th all time; Kobe, in his 928th game over 13 seasons, recently passed Robert Parish, who needed 1,611 games over 21 seasons to collect 23,334 points.
LeBron James
0 -- Playoff-series victories for Cleveland in the 10 seasons immediately before LeBron arrived.
0.999 -- LeBron's Hall of Fame probability, according to Basketball-Reference.com.
1 -- Number of appearances on Vogue and GQ covers.
2 -- Players currently with a more popular jersey (Kobe and Kevin Garnett).
5 -- Playoff-series victories for Cleveland in LeBron's first five seasons.
17 -- "Game-winning shots" (24 seconds or less left, team either tied or down one or two points) from the start of the 2003-04 season to Feb. 2, 2009, an NBA high that includes playoff games, according to 82games.com. (http://82games.com/gamewinningshots.htm)
18 -- Difference in wins for the Cavs from their last season without LeBron (17) to his rookie year (35).
24-35 -- Age, in years and days, on Feb. 3, 2009, when he became the fastest player to reach 12,000 points.
25 -- Consecutive points scored for his team to close out a 109-107 victory against the Pistons in Game 5 of the 2007 Eastern Conference finals.
27-6-6 -- Point, rebound and assist thresholds reached the past four seasons, joining Oscar Robertson as the only players to accomplish the feat.
27.4 -- Career scoring average, tops among active players.
30.0 -- Points per game in 2007-08, making him the first Cav to win a scoring title.
40.6 -- Career average for minutes; only Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Oscar Robertson and Allen Iverson have averaged that much in a career.
54.2 -- Points per 48 minutes of clutch time in 2008-09, second to Kobe's 54.8, according to 82games.com.
446 -- Consecutive games to start his career with at least one assist, snapped Feb. 26, 2009, in Houston.