LeBron James Starts Season Nearing Top 10 in All-Time Scoring

Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James enters 2016-17 likely needing just a handful of games to pass Hakeem Olajuwon for 10th on the NBA's all-time scoring list, per ESPN Stats & Info.

James sits 113 points behind Olajuwon entering the season, putting him about four or five games away from overtaking "The Dream" for 10th place overall. It's certainly reasonable to anticipate him moving as high as seventh on the list this season, assuming he can avoid the injury bug.

While James has taken a few rest days over the past couple years, he was healthy enough to play in 76 of his team's 82 contests last season. However, it was just the fourth time in his career and second season in a row in which he failed to reach 2,000 points. 

The first time he didn't make it to 2,000 came in his rookie season, and he again failed to reach the mark in 2011-12 due to a lockout-shortened campaign of 66 games.

Besides him being an elite player, James' totals have also been the result of him managing to remain healthy for the majority of his career. He's played in 75 or more games in all but one season (besides the 2011-12 shortened season) and has averaged 27.2 points per game over the course of his career.

The King's biggest outputs came early in his career when he played on some less talented Cavaliers teams, but he's still managed to average 25-plus points in 12 of his 13 NBA campaigns. Despite being 31 years old, James remains one of the league's best players and was the centerpiece of the team's championship run in 2015-16.

James should continue to rack up milestones as his career progresses, but it may be difficult to match the joy of bringing the championship back to his hometown Cavaliers last season.