"This is going to be the weirdest thing ever uttered" - Olden Polynice says LeBron James underachieved in his NBA career

LeBron James is the only player in NBA history to play more than 22 seasons in the league. The 2026-27 season will be his 24th overall. He has also etched his name into the record books as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer and has padded that record to the point where many believe no one in this lifetime will break it. That’s just the tip of the LeBron iceberg.

Despite that, former NBA center Olden Polynice thinks the now-Philadelphia 76ers star did not do enough in his NBA career. Polynice told SiriusXM NBA Radio that he considers James one of the greatest players of all time and acknowledges that what he’s doing is unlike anything we’ve seen before. However, OP believes Bron could have done better.

“I think LeBron should’ve averaged a triple-double way before Russell Westbrook,” said Polynice after showering LeBron with praise. “That’s my personal opinion because he’s big, strong, and everything else. He’s the most talented guy we’ve seen in a long time. But yet Russell Westbrook averaged a triple-double, and LeBron didn’t. So I can be critical about stuff like that.”

For the record, LeBron has one of the most impressive career stat lines of all time at 26.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 7.4 assists per game. However, the closest he’s come to a triple-double season was his last year in Cleveland in 2017-18, when he put up 27.5 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 9.2 assists per game.

Two years after that, when he led the Los Angeles Lakers to the 2020 NBA championship at the Orlando Bubble, James had the only double-double season of his storied career when he led the league in assists at 10.2 per game while also putting up 25.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.

James is, however, 5th all-time with 125 career triple-doubles. However, not only is Russell Westbrook on top of the leaderboard with 209, but he also had four seasons averaging a triple-double, accomplishing it over five years, from 2016-17 to 2020-21. That, according to Olden, is a stain on LeBron’s legacy.

“I still believe, believe it or not, this is going to be the weirdest thing I’ve ever uttered: I believe that LeBron James underachieved,” he added.

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There’s no question that Westbrook’s accomplishment is super impressive, as only he, Oscar Robertson, and Nikola Jokic have done so. However, it feels crazy, not weird, as Polynice said, to say that James underachieved in his career because he owns more records in the history books than any other player to play in the league.

LBJ is the first and only player to score 50,000 career points in the regular season and playoffs combined. He is also No.4 on the all-time assists list and is 24th overall on the rebounding leaderboard. James has got more All-Star Game appearances and more All-NBA selections than anybody else, and that includes Westbrook.

And one more thing. Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird also

never averaged a triple-double in their careers. Based on OP’s argument, then did those legends underachieve too?

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