On Thursday night in Toronto, something happened that the basketball world had not seen in 18 years and 11 months.
LeBron James was held to single digits in a regular-season game.
His record-shattering streak of 1,297 consecutive double-digit scoring games – a run that began on Jan. 6, 2007 – ended during the Lakers’ 123-120 win over the Raptors.
And it happened in perfect LeBron fashion.
With the score tied at 120 in the closing seconds, the Raptors doubled Austin Reaves (44 points), who found James (8 points) at the top of the key with 3.5 ticks left.
LeBron had a chance to win the game – and extend his streak – with a bucket. But rather than force up a tough shot, he found a wide-open Rui Hachimura in the corner, who sank the buzzer-beating 3 to win the game and give James his 11th assist.
REAVES: draws the double
LEBRON: reads the 4-on-3
RUI: wins the game from the corner https://t.co/dTJi6qXi3O pic.twitter.com/yNvudCHODP— NBA (@NBA) December 5, 2025
Despite scoring more points (42,268) than any player in NBA history, James has never wanted to label himself a scorer.
Instead, he prides himself on being an all-around player who makes the right play for his team – whether that’s attacking himself or setting up teammates, as he did Thursday night.
“Just playing the game the right way… always make the right play,” he said of his game-winning assist. “That’s been my MO my whole career, not even once second-guessing that.”
After the game, when asked for his thoughts on the streak ending, James replied: “None. We won.”
While the way the streak ended was emblematic of LeBron’s basketball philosophy, the streak itself reflects the consistency and sustained excellence that have been hallmarks of James’ unprecedented NBA career.
1,297 Games: Only 24 players in NBA history have played that many games in their entire careers – let alone scored 10+ points in all of them. LeBron’s run of double-digit games is 431 games longer than any other player in history and 1,030 games longer than the new active leader – Kevin Durant (267).
35,101 Points: During his streak, LeBron scored enough points to rank fourth on the NBA’s all-time scoring list – surpassing the career totals of Kobe Bryant (33,643) and Michael Jordan (32,292).
6,905 Days: LeBron’s streak began on Jan. 6, 2007 and ended on Dec. 1, 2025 – that’s 18 years, 10 months and 26 days. When the streak began, Steph Curry was a freshman phenom at Davidson, and 2025 No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg was just 16 days old.
9 Single-Digit Games: Despite the streak ending Thursday, James still has fewer than 10 single-digit games in his entire career. In fact, he has five more 50+ point games (14) than he does games under 10 points (9).
Tonight in Boston (7 p.m. ET, Prime Video), the Lakers look to earn their ninth win in 10 games as they face the Celtics — a team against which he has his third-highest career scoring average (28.6 ppg). James has been ruled out for the game due to sciatica and left foot joint arthritis.
In the nightcap of Friday’s Prime Video doubleheader, the defending champion Thunder will host the Mavericks (9:30 p.m. ET) with two streaks on the line.
14 Straight Wins: A victory would put the Thunder one shy of the franchise-record 15 straight wins they had a season ago and would make them the fourth team in league history to open a season at least 22-1.
95 Straight 20+ Point Games: Reigning scoring champ and Kia MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander goes for his 95th straight game with 20+ points – a run topped only once in NBA history.
Wilt Chamberlain – whom SGA passed on Sunday for the second-longest streak of all time (93) – still holds the record for the longest run of 20+ point games (126), which was set from Oct. 19, 1961, to Jan. 19, 1963.
It’s taken 62 years for a player to seriously challenge Wilt’s record, but Gilgeous-Alexander appears ready for the task, needing 33 more 20+ point games in a row to etch his name in the history books.
While scoring 20 points in any NBA game is no easy task, SGA makes it appear that way every single time he takes the floor.
“I just put in the work. I found a formula that works and I repeat it,” said Gilgeous-Alexander of his consistency. “I play, and then if they stop something, I have a few counters. And if they stop those, I have a few more counters. So, it’s just a game inside the game.“
Part of Gilgeous-Alexander’s secret sauce is his ability to score from all areas of the court – a true three-level scorer. If a team shuts down one of “his spots,” he can counter and score from another with similar efficiency.
The balance of his shot distribution is unmatched, with his total shot attempts from the restricted area, the paint, midrange and 3-point range separated by just seven shots.
SGA leads the NBA in points off drives (14.3 ppg), ranks second in scoring off pick-and-roll (12.1) and third in isolation plays (7.3). He ranks ninth overall (and second among guards) in paint points (12.5), fifth in midrange scoring (4.8) and second in points off pull-up jumpers (13.7).
It all adds up to a consistent level of scoring that the league has not seen in more than six decades. As impressive as the streak has been, Gilgeous-Alexander’s teammates are not surprised by it.
“That’s pretty insane,” said Jalen Williams when told about the streak by the media. “Seeing him work out in the summers, seeing him work tirelessly on his body and on his craft, it’s not so much of a shock to me to hear that stat.
“It’s more like he works hard enough, and he outworks a lot of the competition, to where it’s almost a little bit expected.”
One of the most impressive aspects of the streak is that Gilgeous-Alexander is not squeaking by, eking out 20 points to keep the run going. This season, Gilgeous-Alexander has scored 30+ points in 18 of OKC’s 22 games.
Only eight times over the full 94-game run has he finished with fewer than 25 points. Compare that to his 15 games with 40+ points, including all five of his career 50+ point performances.
In fact, during the streak, SGA has sat out the entire fourth quarter 27 times (16 last season and 11 this season) with his latest 20+ point game already in the bag.
Gilgeous-Alexander’s combination of consistency and efficiency places him in elite company with the only two players with career averages over 30 points per game – Chamberlain and Michael Jordan.
Last season, SGA joined MJ as the only guards in NBA history to average 30+ points per game while shooting 50% or better from the field in three straight seasons.
Gilgeous-Alexander is on pace to do so for a fourth season – averaging career highs in points (32.8), field-goal percentage (54.8%) and 3-point percentage (43.4%). Jordan accomplished the feat in five consecutive seasons, from 1987-88 through 1991-92.
So, as we reflect on James’ historic double-digit scoring streak coming to an end after nearly 19 years, we have SGA’s 20+ point game streak to follow and celebrate as he looks to make some history of his own.
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Brian Martin has covered the NBA and WNBA for more than 15 years. You can e-mail him here and follow him on X.
