LeBron James will celebrate his 40th birthday on Monday, joining a select group of NBA players who have played at that age. As he reaches this significant milestone, let’s explore some notable statistical achievements of NBA players in their 40s throughout history.

**40-Point Games**
In the history of the NBA, there has been only one 40-point game scored by a player in their 40s, which is a record held by Michael Jordan. On February 21, 2003, just four days after turning 40, Jordan scored an impressive 43 points for the Washington Wizards in a victory over the New Jersey Nets, with a final score of 89-86.

Only a handful of players have surpassed 30 points after their 40th birthday, with Jordan leading with four such games. Other notable players include Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, and Dirk Nowitzki, each contributing one 30-point game, with Abdul-Jabbar and Malone achieving this during playoff appearances.

**Triple-Doubles**
When it comes to achieving triple-doubles, the occurrence is exceptionally rare for athletes over 40. Karl Malone holds the only triple-double recorded by a 40-year-old, which consisted of 10 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists during a game where the Los Angeles Lakers overcame the San Antonio Spurs on November 28, 2003.

However, double-doubles are much more common among players in their 40s, with a total of 95 instances noted. John Stockton leads this category with 23 double-doubles, followed closely by Robert Parish with 22, and Malone with 21. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar tallied 14, with Michael Jordan contributing eight, while Dikembe Mutombo, Steve Nash, and Dirk Nowitzki each amassed one.

**Scoring After 40**
LeBron James is set to make his mark on the scoring records for players over the age of 40. Excluding Tim Duncan and Danny Schayes, who participated in playoff games but never in regular-season matches after their 40th birthdays, there have been 29 players who managed to score in the NBA past this age.

Several players—including Juwan Howard, Charles Jones, Rick Mahorn, Charles Oakley, Bob Cousy, Jamal Crawford, Nat Hickey, and Joe Johnson—have collectively scored 21 points or fewer after turning 40. James is poised to surpass their totals with just one strong performance. Notably, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar leads with 1,941 points scored after the age of 40, while Robert Parish (1,706), Vince Carter (1,433), and John Stockton (1,088) all have more than 1,000 points in this age bracket.

**Oldest Players**
Although James holds the title of the oldest player currently in the NBA, he is unlikely to claim the record for the oldest player in league history. That honor goes to Nat Hickey, who played in two games for the Providence Steamrollers on January 27 and 28, 1948. Hickey made his second appearance just two days shy of his 46th birthday and endured a challenging outing, missing all six attempts from the field and only hitting two out of three free throws.

**Participating in the Finals**
In the past two decades, the only player to compete in an NBA Finals game at the age of 40 or older was Udonis Haslem of the Miami Heat. He participated in the finals against Denver just two days before his 43rd birthday. Prior to Haslem, Karl Malone was the last player to make it to the finals at this age, having played in 2004.

**Average Performance**
Typically, a player who has turned 40 averages around 6.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game. This is a figure that James is likely to surpass consistently, considering he averaged 26.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 8.1 assists during his 30s.

**Future 40-Year-Olds**
Following James, the next player set to turn 40 is Chris Paul from San Antonio, scheduled for May 6. For him to play at that age this season, he would likely need to progress to a second-round playoff series. Taj Gibson from Charlotte will reach this milestone next on June 24, but he would need to return next season to play in that age group.

The next NBA player on this trajectory is Kyle Lowry of Philadelphia, who turns 40 on March 25, 2026, assuming he makes a return for a 20th season this upcoming year.