LeBron James surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s scoring record,
a brand that until recently seemed impossible to break.
The greatness of the Los Angeles Lakers forward raises a question for us: what other brands in world sports are unique and seem very distant to the rest of mortals?
We selected a series of historical records to go through together.
Here we go.
Pelé: three World Cups won in 1958, 1962 and 1970 (Football)
The Brazilian genius is the only player in history to win three World Cups in three different decades. He also scored 12 goals in 14 matches played in World Cups. Undisputed crack, FIFA credits him with 757 goals in official matches, but it is said that he reached 1,284. The latter is something that arouses controversy throughout the world.
Lionel Messi: maximum winner of gold balls with seven (Soccer)
There are many records for La Pulga, brand new world champion with Argentina in Qatar 2022. But the Ballon d’Or would seem very difficult to beat. He won in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019 and 2021. Cristiano Ronaldo follows him with five, but the most unusual thing is that Messi is not retired and can continue reaping trophies. His numbers are supernatural, both in clubs and internationally.
Bill Russell: 11 championship rings (NBA)
No one has come close in terms of championship trophies to the legend of the Boston Celtics of the ’60s and ’70s. The prodigal son of Red Auerbach won eleven rings in just thirteen championships played, including two as player-coach. Wilt Chamberlain’s Great Nightmare.
Michael Jordan: 10-time leading scorer (NBA)
The Chicago Bulls guard has an offensive brand that will be very difficult for someone to break. Not only that: they were seven seasons in a row as top scorer, something he only shares with Wilt Chamberlain. In addition, he is the only one with two three-peats and the only one, among other merits, to reach MVP, Defensive Player of the Year and tournament scorer in one season (1987-88).
Wilt Chamberlain: 50.4 points per game in 1961-62 (NBA)
As the statistics department of ESPNDuring the 1961-62 run, Chamberlain never scored less than 26 points per game. He had 45 50-plus games, 15 60-plus games and three 70-plus games. The maximum compared to any other player in history. Additionally, he averaged 48.5 minutes per game. Oh, and on March 2, 1962, he scored 100 points.
Pete Maravich (LSU, 1968-70): 44.2 points per game (MCBB)
Pistol Pete puts together numbers that will never come close to being matched in college basketball. He is the all-time Division I leading scorer with 3,667, despite playing just three seasons and no 3-point line. To understand it: he averaged 44.5 points in 1970, 44.3 points in 1969 and 43.8 in 1968. The closest mark for points per game is that of Frank Selvy, in 1954, with 41.7.
Lewis Hamilton: 103 race wins (Formula One)
He shares, along with Michael Schumacher, the most championship titles with seven. But the British from Mercedes is the one who has won the most number of races in history, 12 more than the German. It is true, times have changed, because Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio, with 24 victories, is the one who has the best winning percentage in all history (47.06) with at least two races disputed.
Richard Petty: 200 triunfos de Career Cup (NASCAR)
Richard Petty, the King of NASCAR, has won 200 Cup Series Races (the highest level in NASCAR) in his more than 30-year career. This is almost twice as many as any other NASCAR driver in history. Only one driver has more than 100 victories (David Pearson with 105) and then there are Jeff Gordon (93), Jimmie Johnson (83) and Dale Earnhardt (76).
Archie Moore: 132 fights won by knockout (Boxing)
Archibald Lee Wright, world champion in the light heavyweight category between 1952 and 1962, has the highest number of victories by KO (103) compared to any other boxer in history. He had, in total, 220 fights with 186 wins.
Roger Federer: 237 consecutive weeks with number 1 (Tennis)
Not Novak Djokovic, not Rafael Nadal, not anyone on planet earth. The Swiss maestro’s record of 237 consecutive weeks at the top of the ranking is so amazing it’s hard to imagine. But it happened and there he is, on top of the mountain, waiting for some brave man who dares to challenge him for the scepter.
Rafael Nadal: 14 Roland Garros titles (Tennis)
The 14 titles of the Mallorcan genius left Bjorn Borg’s five on French soil far behind. But it wasn’t just that impressive list of championships: he never lost a final there, since his record is 14-0 on the Parisian clay. He is also 112-3 in games played at Roland Garros. Who is closest in a Grand Slam tournament is Novak Djokovic, who won 10 Australian Open in his career.
Margaret Court: 192 career titles (Tennis)
The Australian tennis player is, by scandal, the most winning in history in terms of titles. Between 1960 and 1977 she won 192 championships, including 24 Grand Slams: 11 Australian Open (7 in a row), five Roland Garros, three Wimbledon and five US Open. She is the only one in history to achieve it before and after the open era.
Wayne Gretzky: 2,857 career points (NHL)
So incredible is this Wayne Gretzky record that if he had never scored a goal, he would still hold the record for career points. It’s simple: he would reach him with the 1,963 assists carried out to take the lead.
Cal Ripken Jr.: 2,632 consecutive games played (MLB)
Ripken Jr’s Hall of Fame career has a consistency that is impossible to match. 2,632 consecutive games since May 1982! He participated in the Major Leagues for 21 years, won two MVPs, two Gold Gloves and eight Silver Sluggers.
Cy Young: 749 complete games (MLB)
Of all the wonderful marks Young has as a pitcher, 749 complete games seems the least achievable. The number is astronomical. For dimension, ESPN’s stats department informed us that Sandy Alcantara leads the current season with six. Young had at least 36 complete games by himself in 11 separate seasons, including more than 40 in nine of them.
Nolan Ryan: 5.714 Strikeouts de carrera (MLB)
The sum of strikeouts occurred between his 19 and 46 years. He has more than 1,000 than the immediate pursuer of him. He also had at least 200 innings in a season 14 times in his career. On four of those occasions he was already 40 years old or older.
Joe DiMaggio: 56-game hitting streak (MLB)
On May 15, 1941, Joe DiMaggio went 1-4 in the Yankees’ fifth straight loss. From that moment until July 16, the magic happened: 56 hit-batting games in a row, something that could never be repeated in history. Trea Turner has the longest streak in MLB at 26 games. That is to say, he is not even half of what DiMaggio did in the 40s.
Tom Brady: Seven Super Bowl wins (NFL)
After announcing his retirement after 23 seasons, Brady became the winningest in American football history with seven Super Bowls. Six with the New England Patriots and one with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This is more than any other NFL franchise in his history. He also has 5 Super Bowl MVPs.
Emmitt Smith: 18,355 rushing yards (NFL)
From 1990 to 2004, Emmitt Smith had an unheard of 18,355 rushing yards, leading the NFL in rushing. What’s more, he has almost 2,000 more than Walter Payton, who is in second place. Derrick Henry is the current player with the most at 8,335.
Jerry Rice: 22,895 receiving yards (NFL)
Jerry Rice’s 22,895 receiving yards are the most in NFL history. In fact he is the only one who exceeded 20,000. The ESPN statistics department points out that Julio Jones is the active player closest to the mark with 13,629, but he is 33 years old and there is not much thread left on the reel for his career.
Tiger Woods: 683 weeks as number one in OWGR (GOLF)
The American star spent 683 weeks as number one in the Official World Golf Rankings between 1997 and 2014. And there were 281 consecutive weeks as number one between 2005 and 2010, the longest streak since the rankings began in 1986.
Michael Phelps: 28 Olympic medals (Swimming)
The American dolphin has records that seem impossible for any other athlete to break. Not only that: Phelps also has 23 gold medals, 13 individual event gold medals and 16 overall Olympic medals in individual events.
