2024-25 Milestone Watch

Career milestones to keep an eye on when the NBA season opens on October 22.

Oct 10, 2024

The 2024-25 NBA season starts in just 12 days, with the defending champion Boston Celtics hosting the New York Knicks and the Los Angeles Lakers welcoming the Minnesota Timberwolves. Here are some career milestones to be on the lookout for when the new campaign tips off.

30,000 Points

Kevin Durant (needs 1,076)

Durant would become just the eighth player in NBA history to reach this mark, joining LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Dirk Nowitzki, and Wilt Chamberlain. As long as he doesn’t have any extended absences, I think Durant will attain this milestone in late January.

25,000 Points

Stephen Curry (needs 1,332)
DeMar DeRozan (1,418)

Absent a significant injury, Curry is almost a lock to surpass 25,000 points this season. It’s hard to predict how much rest Curry will get even with good health, but I would guess he’ll reach this milestone in early March.

DeRozan is a bit trickier to project, as it’s unclear how many shots he’ll get up with his new team, the Sacramento Kings. My guess is DeRozan will average 18-20 PPG, so look for him to reach this goal in late March or early April.

20,000 Points

Giannis Antetokounmpo (needs 1,498)
Paul George (1,968)
Anthony Davis (2,283)

Antetokounmpo’s lowest scoring average over his last five seasons is 28.1 PPG, so as long as he appears in at least 55 games the 20,000-point mark should be no problem. I’d look for him to reach this milestone around the middle of March.

George has only surpassed 1,968 points in a season one time (2018-19). George is highly unlikely to do it with the Philadelphia 76ers this season, as he’ll be sharing opportunities with Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.

Davis has two career 2,000-point seasons, but his last one came in 2017-18. Even if he matches last season’s career-high 76 games played, I see him falling several hundred points short of the mark. This milestone will have to wait until the 2025-26 campaign.

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15,000 Field Goals Made

LeBron James (needs 163)

James is poised to become just the second player in NBA history to reach this mark, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (15,837). Look for him to do it in a late November or early December game.

10,000 Field Goals Made

Kevin Durant (needs 50)

Durant would become the 16th player in NBA history to achieve this milestone. He’s averaged at least 10 field goals made per game in each of the last three seasons, so this should happen by the first week of November, at the latest.

10,000 Rebounds

Nikola Vucevic (needs 565)
Kevin Love (597)
Rudy Gobert (1,085)

Vucevic has averaged double-digit boards in each of his last six seasons, ranking 10th in the league with 10.5 RPG last season. Look for him to snag his 10,000th rebound in early-to-mid March.

Love has not recorded at least 597 rebounds in a season since 2016-17. Suffice it to say, I don’t think he’ll be reaching this goal in 2024-25.

Gobert’s career high in rebounds is 1,041, achieved in the 2018-19 season. He grabbed 982 boards last season, and without Karl-Anthony Towns around may get even more this season. However, I think he’ll fall short of 10,000 and have to settle for reaching this goal in the first full month of the 2025-26 campaign.

10,000 Assists

Russell Westbrook (needs 532)

It’s unclear just how many minutes Westbrook will log in his new role with the Denver Nuggets, but I don’t think it will be nearly enough to record the 532 assists he needs. Look for him to reach this milestone in 2025-26.

4,000 3-Pointers Made

Stephen Curry (needs 253)

Curry is already the all-time leader in this category. He made a league-high 357 3-pointers last season, his eighth time leading the NBA. I think Curry will get to 4,000 3-pointers made around the same time he reaches 25,000 career points, so let’s say early March.

3,000 3-Pointers Made

James Harden (needs 60)

Harden’s 186 3-pointers made last season were his most since the 2019-20 campaign. As long as Harden is playing he’ll get up the shots, so look for him to surpass this milestone before Christmas. He’ll become just the second player in NBA history with 3,000 3-pointers made, joining Curry.

2,500 3-Pointers Made

Klay Thompson (needs 19)
LeBron James (90)
Paul George (247)

Thompson’s first 2,481 3-pointers made came as a member of the Golden State Warriors, but he’ll reach this milestone with the Dallas Mavericks. It shouldn’t take him long to get there, as I’ll predict it will happen the first week of November.

Jams has never made 200 3-pointers in a season, but he’s hit at least 100 in 16 seasons, one shy of Ray Allen’s NBA record. Look for him to reach this goal either just before or just after the All-Star Game.

George made 243 3-pointers last season, so 247 is not out of the realm of possibility. However, I don’t think he’ll be able to get there this season.

2,000 3-Pointers Made

Buddy Hield (needs 76)
CJ McCollum (182)
Mike Conley (197)

Hield has made an average of three 3-pointers per game in his career, and he rarely misses games (just six in eight seasons). Look for Hield to have this wrapped up by Christmas.

McCollum hit a career-high 239 3-pointers last season, and has made 182 or more 3-pointers in seven of his last nine seasons. I think he’ll attain this milestone in late March.

Conley has never made 197 3-pointers in a season, sinking a career-high 179 last season. This is a goal that will probably have to wait until 2025-26.

2,000 Steals

Russell Westbrook (needs 151)

Westbrook hasn’t even recorded 100 steals in a season since 2018-19, so this one will have to be put on hold until 2025-26, at the earliest.

2,000 Blocks

Brook Lopez (needs 88)

Lopez has blocked more than 88 shots in nine of his last 10 seasons, the lone exception being his injury-shortened 2021-22 campaign (he missed 69 games). Lopez seems to be getting better with age, as he’s recorded the two highest block totals of his career in the last two seasons. I’m going to project Lopez will reach this mark by the middle of January.

1,500 Games Played

LeBron James (needs 8)

James will become just the sixth player in NBA history to reach this milestone, joining Robert Parish, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Vince Carter, Dirk Nowitzki, and John Stockton.

Here’s something crazy: James has career totals of 40,474 points, 11,185 rebounds, and 11,009 assists. If you reduce each of those figures by one-third (e.g., 40,474 points becomes 26,983 points), you still have marks that no other player in NBA history has reached.

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Andre Drummond (needs 21)
Kevin Love (32)
Nikola Jokic (56)
Rudy Gobert (60)
Anthony Davis (66)

Drummond will serve as Joel Embiid’s backup with the Philadelphia 76ers. Although 21 double-doubles seems unlikely in a reserve role, you never know what might happen given Embiid’s injury history. By the way, it’s hard to believe Drummond is only 31 years old; it seems like he’s been in the NBA forever.

Love has recorded a total of 32 double-doubles over his last four seasons, so this is highly unlikely to happen in 2024-25 (or 2025-26, for that matter).

Jokic recorded a career-high 68 double-doubles last season, ranking second in the NBA to Domantas Sabonis (77). He’s produced 56 or more double-doubles in five of his last six seasons. I think Jokic will reach 500 before the end of March.

Gobert’s 54 double-doubles last season ranked fifth in the league. Sixty would be the second-highest total of his career, but once again seems possible without Towns. I think Gobert will fall just short, though.

Davis finished third in the NBA with 64 double-doubles last season, a career best by 14. Davis also played a career-high 76 games last season, a number I don’t think he’ll match this season. Look for him to reach this goal in 2025-26.

200 Triple-Doubles

Russell Westbrook (needs 1)

Already the NBA’s all-time leader in this category, Westbrook needs just one more to become the first player in NBA history to reach 200 triple-doubles. He recorded just one triple-double last season, his lowest total since the 2012-13 campaign.

150 Triple-Doubles

Nikola Jokic (needs 20)

Jokic has produced at least 10 triple-doubles in each of his last seven seasons, the longest such streak in NBA history. Last season, he joined Russell Westbrook (three in a row) and Oscar Robertson as the only players to record at least 25 triple-doubles in back-to-back seasons. I’m going to project Jokic will reach this milestone in late March.

100 Triple-Doubles

Luka Doncic (needs 23)
James Harden (needs 23)

Doncic recorded a career-high 21 triple-doubles last season, and has posted at least 10 in each of the last six seasons. I wouldn’t put it past him to reach the century mark this season, but if he does it probably won’t happen until April.

Harden’s career high in triple-doubles is 22 (back in 2016-17), but he’s only recorded a total of eight over the last two seasons. Harden is not going to hit the milestone this season, and may never do so given his advanced age (he’ll by 36 by the start of the 2025-26 season).

50 Triple-Doubles

Giannis Antetokounmpo (needs 5)

Antetokounmpo produced a career-high 10 triple-doubles last season, and has recorded at least five in five of his last nine campaigns. I think he’ll reach this mark by the All-Star Game.