The 2025-26 NBA season tips off on Oct. 21 and we’re anticipating another potentially historic season full of rising stars, big moments and records broken.
As the league prepares for its 80th season, there are plenty of milestones within reach for several stars. Most notably, veteran leaders such as LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Nikola Jokic can climb the leaderboards on the stat sheets to continue carving their names into league history. But what other unbelievable accolades should you keep your eyes on this season, and how far are these superstars away from achieving them?
We break down landmark stats to keep an eye on in the 2025-26 season, as some stars solidify their leads on the all-time stat sheets while others join familiar company in the top 10 rankings.
Research contributed by ESPN Research’s Michael Schwartz
LeBron set to reach new heights
In December 2024, James officially became the first NBA player to play as both a teenager and a 40-year-old. He and his son, Bronny, also became the first father-son duo to play in the league together after the Los Angeles Lakers drafted Bronny in the 2024 NBA draft. Now, LeBron, the all-time points leader, will look to raise the standard even higher.
James passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the all-time leading scorer in 2023, but this season, he can pass Abdul-Jabbar as the all-time leader in made field goals. James is 350 field goals away from Abdul-Jabbar’s record (15,837), and “The King,” who has made at least 400 field goals every season (651 made in 2024-25), is likely to surpass the Lakers great again.
Entering his 23rd season, James will pass Vince Carter for the most career seasons, and if he can stay healthy, he is only 50 games away from passing Robert Parish for the most regular-season games played in NBA history. James can also pass Reggie Miller for sixth on the all-time 3-point field goal list on opening night of the 2025-26 season when the Lakers face off against the Golden State Warriors, as he’s only two away from the mark.
Veterans continue their all-time scorers climb
Durant was one of the biggest names on the move this offseason, after being traded from the Phoenix Suns to the Houston Rockets in early July as part of a historic seven-team deal. In his 17th season and on his fifth NBA team, Durant figures to be one of the biggest milestone movers as he’s 849 points away from passing Wilt Chamberlain for seventh on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. Barring injury, Durant could hit this mark as he has cleared 1,000 points in all seasons in which he has played over 35 games.
Durant’s former Oklahoma City Thunder teammate, James Harden, can also move up the all-time scorers list. “The Beard” is only 603 points away from passing Carmelo Anthony for 10th and 910 away from passing Shaquille O’Neal for ninth. Harden has scored at least 910 points every season of his career except as a rookie, and doubled that mark last season while playing on one of the oldest teams in the league, the LA Clippers.
Assist leaders ascend
Harden has a larger hill to climb in the assists category, as he’s 746 away from moving up a spot on the all-time list — he’s currently 13th. He will have to pass Andre Miller (8,524), Gary Payton (8,966) and Isiah Thomas (9,061) to reach the top 10, and he’s only hit the 746 mark in a single season twice in his career. It appears more likely that he’ll be able to move into 12th, surpassing Miller, this season.
Harden’s former teammate, Russell Westbrook, currently sits a eighth on the all-time list (9,925) and could become the eighth player in NBA history to reach 10,000 this season. If he’s able to find a home this season, Westbrook can also move up this list, passing Magic Johnson, Mark Jackson and Steve Nash in fifth. He’s only 411 assists away from joining Chris Paul and LeBron James in the top five — he had 457 total assists last season with the Nuggets.
But Westbrook will be aiming at a moving target as James will also move up the all-time assists list. He’s only 508 away from passing Jason Kidd for third and he has reached that mark in each of his past two seasons, so expect that milestone to be hit this season if James avoids injury.
From way downtown
Stephen Curry should be cooking again in his 17th season with the Warriors. Curry is 292 3-pointers away (regular season and playoffs combined) from becoming the first player with 5,000 3s. But we might not see this mark hit until later in the season, as he hit 311 regular-season 3s last season alone and 357 the season before.
Curry’s former Splash Brother, Klay Thompson, is 108 three-pointers away from passing Damian Lillard for fourth on the all-time 3-pointers list. With Lillard out for the season, Thompson can most likely hit this mark if he stays healthy, as he hit 216 in his first full season with the Dallas Mavericks. He could move up to third but would need 277 3s to pass Ray Allen for that distinction, a mark he reached only once in his career (2022-23).
The health of Paul George and the Philadelphia 76ers is also a big question this season. George, now entering his 16th season, is 102 3s away from passing Kyle Korver for eighth on the all-time list. In his last season with the Clippers, when he was fully healthy, he hit 243 3s during the regular season and could do so again if he’s able to stay on the court.
Conquerors of the triple-double
Last season, Jokic, a three-time MVP set an NBA record when he recorded the league’s first 30-20-20 triple-double while also leading the league with 34 total triple-doubles on the season. This season, the Nuggets’ triple-double maestro is just 18 away from passing Oscar Robertson (181) for the second most in NBA history, behind Russell Westbrook (203). As the Nuggets try to maximize their championship window, it’s not out of the question that Jokic could hit that mark while also becoming the second player in NBA history to reach 200.
Lakers superstar Luka Doncic can also continue his climb up the list. Doncic is 18 triple-doubles away from becoming the seventh player with 100 career triple-doubles. Doncic, 26, is also 26 triple-doubles away from passing his former Mavericks coach, Jason Kidd, for sixth on the all-time list.
Let the record show
Accolades don’t usually come in the form of records, but two tenured coaches, Doc Rivers and Rick Carlisle, can make history this season on the all-time wins list. Rivers, entering his 26th season coaching in the NBA, is just 14 wins away from passing George Karl for sixth on the list. But after the Milwaukee Bucks traded Damian Lillard back to the Portland Trail Blazers as the team is looking to maximize its championship window with Giannis Antetokounmpo, it’s unclear how this season might shake out. If the Bucks can overachieve, Rivers is 49 wins away from passing Pat Riley for fifth and 60 wins from passing Jerry Sloan for fourth.
Carlisle, fresh off a Finals appearance, is now 50 wins away from passing Rick Adelman to reach the top 10 club on the all-time list.
