Charles Barkley vs LeBron James

4of 8 lines

Charles Barkley and LeBron James compared on their NBA careers: Charles Barkley played 16 seasons, 1984-85 to 1999-00, LeBron James 23 seasons, 2003-04 to 2025-26. Charles Barkley averaged 22.1 points a game to LeBron James's 26.8. LeBron James won 4 titles.

Who has the better career numbers?

They are level: each leads in 4 of the 8 lines. Bold marks the better figure; playing time — games, minutes, at-bats, innings — is not scored.

Charles Barkley and LeBron James career per game

1,073	GP	1,622
36.7	MIN	37.6
22.1	PTS	26.8, better
11.7, better	REB	7.5
3.9	AST	7.4, better
1.5	STL	1.5
0.8, better	BLK	0.7
54.1, better	FG%	50.7
26.6	3P%	34.8, better
73.5	FT%	73.7, better
61.2, better	TS%	59

Career totals

Charles Barkley and LeBron James career totals

23,757	PTS	43,440, better
12,546, better	REB	12,095
4,215	AST	12,016, better
1,648	STL	2,417, better
888	BLK	1,185, better
54.1, better	FG%	50.7
26.6	3P%	34.8, better
73.5	FT%	73.7, better
61.2, better	TS%	59

How do they compare in the playoffs?

Charles Barkley and LeBron James postseason

123	GP	302
39.4	MIN	41.2
23	PTS	28.2, better
12.9, better	REB	8.9
3.9	AST	7.2, better
1.6	STL	1.7, better
0.9	BLK	1, better
51.3, better	FG%	49.5
25.5	3P%	33.2, better
71.7	FT%	74.1, better
58.4, better	TS%	58.3

Where each stands all time

Charles Barkley and LeBron James all-time places

34th (23,757)	Points	1st (43,440), better
11th (12,546), better	Rebounds	16th (12,095)
110th (4,215)	Assists	4th (12,016), better
30th (1,648)	Steals	6th (2,417), better
122nd (888)	Blocks	64th (1,185), better
—	3-pointers made	6th (2,636), better

Among the NBA players with a career line on file, regular season, counting stats only — the same lists the records pages run on.

Titles and awards

Charles Barkley and LeBron James titles and awards

—	Championships	4, better
1	All-Rookie First Team	1
5, better	All-NBA Second Team	4
5	All-NBA First Team	13, better
1	All-Star MVP	3, better
1	MVP	4, better
1	All-NBA Third Team	4, better
—	Rookie of the Year	1, better
—	All-Defensive First Team	5, better
—	Finals MVP	4, better
—	All-Defensive Second Team	1, better

Awards come from the league’s published winner lists; a championship counts a season played for the club that won it.

Season by season

Lined up by career year, not by calendar: each row is the players’ nth season.

Charles Barkley and LeBron James season by season

1st	1984-85	14.0	8.6, better	1.9	2003-04	20.9, better	5.5	5.9, better
2nd	1985-86	20.0	12.8, better	3.9	2004-05	27.2, better	7.4	7.2, better
3rd	1986-87	23.0	14.6, better	4.9	2005-06	31.4, better	7.0	6.6, better
4th	1987-88	28.3, better	11.9, better	3.2	2006-07	27.3	6.7	6.0, better
5th	1988-89	25.8	12.5, better	4.1	2007-08	30.0, better	7.9	7.2, better
6th	1989-90	25.2	11.5, better	3.9	2008-09	28.4, better	7.6	7.2, better
7th	1990-91	27.6	10.1, better	4.2	2009-10	29.7, better	7.3	8.6, better
8th	1991-92	23.1	11.1, better	4.1	2010-11	26.7, better	7.5	7.0, better
9th	1992-93	25.6	12.2, better	5.1	2011-12	27.1, better	7.9	6.2, better
10th	1993-94	21.6	11.2, better	4.6	2012-13	26.8, better	8.0	7.3, better
11th	1994-95	23.0	11.1, better	4.1	2013-14	27.1, better	6.9	6.3, better
12th	1995-96	23.2	11.6, better	3.7	2014-15	25.3, better	6.0	7.4, better
13th	1996-97	19.2	13.5, better	4.7	2015-16	25.3, better	7.4	6.8, better
14th	1997-98	15.2	11.7, better	3.2	2016-17	26.4, better	8.6	8.7, better
15th	1998-99	16.1	12.3, better	4.6	2017-18	27.5, better	8.6	9.1, better
16th	1999-00	14.5	10.5, better	3.2	2018-19	27.4, better	8.5	8.3, better
17th	—	—	—	—	2019-20	25.3	7.8	10.2
18th	—	—	—	—	2020-21	25.0	7.7	7.8
19th	—	—	—	—	2021-22	30.3	8.2	6.2
20th	—	—	—	—	2022-23	28.9	8.3	6.8
21st	—	—	—	—	2023-24	25.7	7.3	8.3
22nd	—	—	—	—	2024-25	24.4	7.8	8.2
23rd	—	—	—	—	2025-26	20.9	6.1	7.2

What the columns mean: PTS · REB · AST