Cross-era · careers 4 years apart

Charles Barkley vs LeBron James

Charles Barkley 1984-1999 · Forward LeBron James 2003-2025 · Forward · active

Charles Barkley (1984-1999) and LeBron James (2003-2025) never shared an NBA court — their careers are separated by 4 years, so this is a cross-era comparison, not a head-to-head. On the floor, LeBron James was the higher-volume scorer (26.8 points per game to 22.1); adjusted for era they scored at 2.15× and 2.70× their league average respectively; LeBron James created more for others (7.4 assists per game to 3.9). LeBron James holds the edge on accolades — 4 MVPs, 4 championships, 4 Finals MVPs and the #3 all-time ranking to Charles Barkley's #31.

Career averages

Charles BarkleyStatLeBron James
22.1 Points / game 26.8
11.7 Rebounds / game 7.4
3.9 Assists / game 7.4
1.5 Steals / game 1.5
0.8 Blocks / game 0.7
54.0% Field goal % 50.8%
24.5% 3-point % 34.7%
73.3% Free throw % 73.7%
61.2% True shooting % 60.8%
1,073 Games played 1,622

Era-adjusted (× league average of their era)

Charles BarkleyStatLeBron James
2.15× Points vs era avg 2.70×
2.81× Rebounds vs era avg 1.80×
1.67× Assists vs era avg 3.36×

Advanced metrics

Advanced stats aren't available for Charles Barkley.

Charles BarkleyStatLeBron James
— Offensive rating 113.8
— Defensive rating 107.9
— Net rating 5.9
— Usage % 27.2%
— Assist % 34.1%
— Rebound % 10.7%

Playoff averages

Charles BarkleyStatLeBron James
23.0 Points / game 28.4
12.9 Rebounds / game 9.0
3.9 Assists / game 7.2
1.6 Steals / game 1.7
0.9 Blocks / game 1.0
51.4% Field goal % 49.8%
27.0% 3-point % 33.2%
71.5% Free throw % 73.8%
123 Playoff games 292

Accolades

Charles BarkleyStatLeBron James
1 MVP awards 4
0 Finals MVP 4
0 Championships 4
9 All-Star selections 21
5 All-NBA 1st Team 13
#31 All-time GOAT rank #3

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