James hits 30 with the potential for much more

The NBA's all-time scoring mark is well within his grasp.

LeBron Jamesturns 30 years old today. Every birthdayis a time for reflection, but when the digit in the ten's place changes, it's more significant.

James has accomplished quite a bit in his 11-plus seasons in the NBA: five trips to The Finals, two championships, three Olympic medals, four MVP awards, two Finals MVP awards and 37 triple-doubles.

His 23,901 career points are more than any other player in NBA history has scored by the age of 30. It's enough to alreadyput him among the top 25 scorers of all time.

Some notes on the list above ...

Moses Malone (18,479) and Julius Erving (18,374) would rank eighth and ninth if we counted their points scored in the ABA.

IfKevin Durantreturns from his current injury in the next couple of weeks and stays relatively healthy through the next 3 seasons, he could rank second on the list (at somewhere between 22,500 and 23,000 points) when he turns 30 in September of 2018.

Only14 of the league's 59 MVP awardshave been won by players who had already reached their 30th birthday.Steve Nash(who turned 31 during the 2004-05 season and 32 in '05-06) is the only 30-plus guy to win the award in the last 15 years.

Of the 64 times a player has scored at least 60 points in a game (like James did this past March), only five have come after that player's 30th birthday. Only twice in the last 45 years (since the days of Wilt Chamberlain) has a 30-plus player scored 60-plus: 30-year-old Tom Chambers in 1990 and 30-year-oldKobe Bryantin 2009.

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James hits 30 with the potential for much more