LeBron James Poised to Have His Most Impressive Statistical Season Yet

The 1961-62 season was unlike any other in NBA history.

That year, a 23-year-old guard, in just his second professional season, successfully averaged a triple-double. No player, before or after, has put up the kind of numbers Oscar Robertson did for the Cincinnati Royals.

Now, 53 years later, could we see it again?

If any player in the Association could touch Robertson's triple-double average, it's Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James.

James owns lifetime averages of 27.5 points, 7.2 rebounds and 6.9 assists per game over his 11-year career. While he came close many times with the Cavs, James' talent was always needed more in the scoring department. When joining the Miami Heat, it was assumed the scoring pressure would be lessened, and he could focus more on facilitating and rebounding.

Instead, injuries to Dwyane Wade would ultimately force James into a heavy scoring role once again, something he may finally be relieved of.

Now back in Cleveland with an overhauled roster loaded with talent, James should enjoy his best statistical season and may very well become the next to achieve the elusive triple-double average.

Previous Career Bests

James has been a statistical marvel throughout his career.

Coming into the league straight from high school, many expected James to be a supreme scorer, but few could have predicted his outstanding overall game.

During his first year as an 18- and 19-year-old kid, James became just the third rookie in NBA history to average at least 20 points, five rebounds and five assists per game.

From there, his production only increased.

James finished his sophomore season with 27.2 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.2 assists, the only player since Robertson to achieve such a feat.

Despite these impressive hard numbers, James' efficiency stats were lacking. He shot just 41.7 percent with an 18.3 player efficiency rating (PER) as a rookie. As his career has progressed, however, James' shooting percentages and advanced stats have increased.

Over an 11-year career, James' best numbers in each major category look like this:

James	PTS	RBS	AST	FG%	3P%	FT%	PER
Career-Best	31.4	8.0	8.6	56.7	40.6	78.0	31.7
Year	2007-08	2012-13	2009-10	2013-14	2012-13	2008-09	2008-09
Team	Cavs	Heat	Cavs	Heat	Heat	Cavs	Cavs

Bold denotes led league.

Career Year Coming?

Now that he's back with the Cavaliers, which role will James take on?

Will he be the do-everything, playmaking wing on offense he served as previously in Cleveland? What about a new power forward role that James slowly adapted to while with the Miami Heat?

Heading into the 2014-15 season, it could be a bit of both.

Obviously, James won't be tasked with handling and scoring the ball as much now. Not with fellow All-Stars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love hanging around. Dion Waiters, Shawn Marion, Mike Miller, Tristan Thompson and Anderson Varejao have all proved they put up points as well.

Jason Miller/Getty Images

His position will also be slightly adjusted.

James played power forward just 11 percent of the time during his first seven years in Cleveland. On a Heat team lacking quality big men, James was moved to the 4 spot 57 percent of the time.

Now with Love, Thompson and Varejao, James will see most of his minutes at small forward again, but certainly not all.

The NBA is essentially getting smaller, quicker and more athletic.

This means coach David Blatt should be able to use James at both positions depending on the matchup. The same goes for the 6'7", 228-pound Marion.

James and Marion will essentially be filling both forward roles this season, notes Zach Lowe of Grantland:

"

LeBron can deal with bigger players, and the three core bigs are all capable of scooting along with little guys for a couple of beats. When the Cavs go small, with LeBron at power forward, they'll often pair him with Shawn Marion — another hybrid forward with whom LeBron can switch assignments on the fly.

"

So how will James' position affect his stats?

About how you'd expect.

Mark Duncan/Associated Press

According to 82games.com, James averaged 8.2 assists per 48 minutes when playing small forward last season compared to 7.9 while at the 4. Conversely, James' rebounding came to 9.6 per 48 minutes at power forward before dropping to 8.2 at the 3.

This makes sense. The more he plays on the wing, the greater opportunity for James to scan the court and pick up assists. The closer he gets to the hoop while playing power forward, the number of rebounding opportunities increases.

So why does playing for this year's Cavs squad bode well for James?

Coach Blatt runs a Princeton-based offense, which minimizes positional impact. This means point guards will continue to pass but will also run the half court, set screens and perform tasks they may not normally do. Bigs, on the other hand, are often pulled out of the paint and asked to help initiate the offense.

With the Princeton, movement is key. James could be at the top of the wing making an inside pass one play and posting up his man underneath the basket the next.

Every single play should be an opportunity for James to pick up a basket, assist, rebound or a combination of the three.

Efficiency is Key

While James certainly won't be putting up 30 points a game anymore, the manner in which he's scoring has become even more impressive.

Chalk it up to experience, playing closer to the basket or having a superior supporting cast around him, but James' shooting percentages increased dramatically after he joined the Heat.

James' Efficiency Stats	FG%	3P%	FT%	PER
2003-10 Cavaliers	47.5	32.9	74.2	26.9
2010-14 Heat	54.3	36.9	75.8	29.6

When playing with Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami, opponents could no longer consistently double-team James. Leaving him with more single coverage and one-on-one opportunities often meant an easy drive to the lane for James, who shot a whopping 78.3 percent from inside the restricted area last season, via NBA.com.

Now with Love and Irving, opponents will once again be forced to stick only one defender on James.

David Liam Kyle/Getty Images

Unlike his time with the Heat, James now has an All-Star point guard in Irving who's more than capable of setting him up.

Love has proved he can upgrade the offensive game of others as well with his outlet and drop-off passes. The Minnesota Timberwolves scored 11 points more per 100 possessions with Love on the court, and their assisted field goals rose from 56 percent to 63 percent, via 82games.com.

James no longer has to settle for contested shots and can instead use some of his playing time to spot up from deep.

This is especially crucial because James has developed into one of the best catch-and-shoot players in the league. Among guys taking at least one three-pointer per game last season, James ranked third in the NBA with a 48.3 percent success rate off a catch (via NBA.com).

Wade and Bosh were great for James' efficiency on offense.

Love and Irving should be even better.

Triple-Double a Real Possibility?

We know James is capable of eclipsing the 30-8-8 mark and that his shooting percentage has increased by a tremendous amount in 11 years.

Still, averaging 10 rebounds and 10 assists per game is a far cry over eight and eight.

If we take James' career-best averages, that's still an extra 164 rebounds and 115 assists over an 82-game season he would have to collect.

Is that even possible?

Looking at some of James' previous stretches, yes.

Layne Murdoch/Getty Images

Obviously, scoring won't be a problem.

The last time James failed to crack double digits in the regular season was January 5. Not of 2014, mind you, but in a win over Michael Redd's Milwaukee Bucks, circa 2007.

While his highest rebounding total over a year's time is 8.0, James has reached 9.6 over the course of a month (January 2009).

James has proved capable of cleaning the glass, but his passing is even better.

In February 2010, James finished the month with 10.5 assists per game. Although it's a relatively small sample size, the assist total does show James' capability as a distributor.

With Love, Irving, Waiters, Miller, Marion, Thompson and Varejao as teammates, assist opportunities should be plentiful. Not even with Wade and Bosh in Miami has James possessed so many talented scorers around him.

Rebounding will be the trickier stat to pull off, what with Love, Varejao and Thompson cleaning the glass. The more Blatt chooses to play small ball with James at power forward, the better the chance of him reaching double digits.

James may get close to reaching Robertson's numbers, but the chances he averages at least 10 rebounds and assists per game are still very, very slim.

Expect James to finish somewhere along the lines of 24.8 points, 7.8 rebounds and 8.2 assists per game.

If James does reach the elusive triple-double average he's so often flirted with, it would be the four-time MVP's greatest statistical season yet.

Greg Swartz has covered the Cleveland Cavaliers for Bleacher Report since 2010. Connect with him on Twitter for more basketball news and conversation.

All stats provided by Basketball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.