Key Milestones for the New Season: LeBron James could surpass several legends, Curry targets 5,000 three-pointers

On August 20th, Beijing time, the 2025-26 NBA season will begin on October 22nd. We're anticipating yet another season that could go down in history, with emerging talents, thrilling highlights, and shattered records.

With the NBA celebrating its 80th anniversary, several stars are poised to achieve noteworthy milestones. Notably, veteran leaders like LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Nikola Jokic are expected to climb even higher on the statistical leaderboards, further cementing their legacies. But which incredible honors are within reach this season, and how close are these superstars to accomplishing them?

ESPN has thoroughly examined the milestone statistics worth watching in the 2025-26 season. Some players will strengthen their dominance on all-time leaderboards, while others could break into the top ten of elite lists—

LeBron poised for new heights

In 2023, LeBron James surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. This season, he’s on track to overtake Kareem in field goals made. James is currently just 350 makes away from Kareem’s record of 15,837, and he’s had at least 400 field goals in every season (651 last year), so it’s highly likely he’ll pass the Lakers legend once again.

Entering his 23rd season, James will surpass Vince Carter for most seasons played. If he stays healthy, he’s just 50 games away from passing Robert Parish for the most regular-season appearances in NBA history. Additionally, in the season opener between the Lakers and Warriors, James could move ahead of Reggie Miller into sixth place on the all-time three-pointers made list—he’s only two away.

Veterans climbing the scoring charts

Durant was one of the biggest names in free agency this summer, traded from the Phoenix Suns to the Houston Rockets in a historic seven-team deal. Now entering his 17th season and playing for his fifth NBA team, Durant is on the verge of a major milestone—he’s just 849 points away from passing Wilt Chamberlain for seventh on the NBA all-time scoring list. Barring injuries, Durant is likely to achieve this, as he’s scored over 1,000 points in every season with at least 35 games played.

Durant’s former Thunder teammate James Harden is also set to climb the all-time scoring ranks. The “Beard” needs just 603 points to surpass Carmelo Anthony for tenth place, and 910 points to pass Shaquille O’Neal for ninth. Except for his rookie season, Harden has never scored fewer than 910 points in a year, and last season with the veteran-heavy Clippers, he doubled that output.

Assist leaders continue to rise

On the assist front, Harden has a longer journey ahead. He’s currently 13th all-time and needs 746 more assists to move up one spot. To break into the top ten, he’d have to pass Andre Miller (8,524), Gary Payton (8,966), and Isiah Thomas (9,061). Harden has only reached 746 assists in a season twice, so he’s more likely to move up to 12th, surpassing Miller, this year.

Harden’s former teammate Russell Westbrook is eighth on the all-time assist list (9,925) and could become just the eighth player in NBA history with 10,000 career assists this season. If he finds a new team, Westbrook could keep climbing and potentially pass Magic Johnson, Mark Jackson, and Steve Nash, who rank fifth, sixth, and seventh. He’s just 411 assists away from joining the top five (alongside Chris Paul and LeBron James)—last season with the Nuggets, he tallied 457 assists.

However, Westbrook’s goals may shift as LeBron James continues to climb the assist leaderboard. James is only 508 assists away from passing Jason Kidd for third place, and he’s reached that mark in each of the past two seasons. If he stays healthy, James should hit this milestone this year.

Chasing records from beyond the arc

In his 17th season with the Warriors, Curry is expected to continue his elite three-point shooting. Including playoffs, Curry is just 292 threes away from becoming the first player ever to hit 5,000 career three-pointers. This feat may be reached late in the season, as he made 311 threes last regular season and 357 the year before.

Curry’s former “Splash Brother” Klay Thompson is 108 threes away from passing Damian Lillard for fourth all-time in three-pointers made. With Lillard sidelined this season, Thompson, if healthy, should achieve this—he hit 216 threes last year in his first full season with the Mavericks. He could even reach third, but needs 277 more to surpass Ray Allen, a mark he’s only hit once in his career (2022-23 season).

Paul George’s health and the Sixers’ performance are big question marks this season. Heading into his 16th year, George is 102 threes away from overtaking Kyle Korver for eighth all-time. In his last healthy season with the Clippers, he made 243 threes, so if he stays on the court, he could reach this milestone again.

Triple-double conquerors

Last season, three-time MVP Nikola Jokic set an NBA record with the league’s first-ever 30-20-20 triple-double, and led the NBA with 34 triple-doubles. This year, the Nuggets’ triple-double maestro is just 18 shy of passing Oscar Robertson (181) for second-most triple-doubles in NBA history, trailing only Westbrook (203). With Denver striving for another title, Jokic could hit this mark and become only the second player ever with 200 career triple-doubles.

Luka Doncic, the Lakers’ superstar, is also climbing the triple-double ranks. Doncic needs 18 more to become the seventh player with 100 career triple-doubles. At age 26, he’s 26 away from passing his former Mavericks coach Jason Kidd for sixth all-time.

Let the records speak for themselves

Honors aren’t always reflected in records, but two veteran coaches, Doc Rivers and Rick Carlisle, could make history in wins this season. Rivers, entering his 26th year as an NBA head coach, is just 14 wins away from passing George Karl for sixth all-time. However, with the Bucks trading Damian Lillard back to the Blazers to maximize their championship window with Giannis, the season’s outcome is uncertain. If Milwaukee exceeds expectations, Rivers would need 49 more wins to pass Pat Riley for fifth, and 60 to surpass Jerry Sloan for fourth.

Fresh off a Finals appearance, Carlisle is only 50 wins away from overtaking Rick Adelman and breaking into the top ten for all-time coaching victories.