Lebron James is a Pretty O.K. Basketball Player, I guess...

From ESPN.com

31.89.

In terms of the game's hallowed numbers, it doesn't quite resonate like, let's say, 50.4 -- Wilt Chamberlain's historic scoring average in 1961-62 -- or Oscar Robertson's 30-12-11 triple-double that same season.

But it's a big one at Hollinger HQ, anyway. That 31.89 mark is Michael Jordan's PER (player efficiency rating) from the 1987-88 season, the top mark for any season since the league started tracking individual turnovers in 1973-74. (We don't have enough information for seasons prior to that, unfortunately, so we can't properly evaluate Wilt or the Big O.)

And it's an important figure at the moment because it's under assault this season from LeBron James...


John Hollinger goes on to explain why Lebron James is having one of the most significant seasons in NBA history by referencing threads of numerical data that would get any statistical analyst worth their salt aroused in a borderline-sexual kind of way. Hollinger also goes on to say that LBJ's season hasn't been receiving nearly enough attention.

Well Johnny, consider this little entry the official tipping point for Lebron. Because as we all know, once a story appears on the seanmccallum.com blog, there's really no going back. Be prepared for an avalanche of LBJ stories in the coming weeks. You can thank me later.


(By the way, was this a loosely-veiled excuse to post the clip of LBJ going off for 16 points in two minutes last month? Possibly. I just can't get enough of the Bradley Center crowd going nuts for a visiting player, or the sight of the Cavs bench quite literally not being able to believe what they're seeing. In fact, it was somewhat reminiscent of this performance. And these ones.)