NBA Records and Milestones that Could Fall in the 2025-26 NBA Season

LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Victor Wembanyama, and even the Charlotte Hornets have potential milestones in play this year.

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, second from right, drives with the ball after stealing it from Philadelphia 76ers guard Ricky Council IV, right, during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, in Los Angeles. AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill

The 2025-26 NBA season is upon us, as Opening Night was held on Tuesday.

This is the 80th season in league history, and eight decades provides for lots of NBA records, statistics and milestones. Several hallowed marks could fall during the NBA’s 80th birthday, from those both on the court and on the sideline.

Here are the top NBA records and milestones that could be broken during the 2025-26 season.

LeBron James

Already the league’s all-time leading scorer, technically every time James scores, he’s setting a new NBA record. But the four-time MVP will make history whenever he overcomes the sciatica that has him sidelined to begin the year and finally takes the court.

This will be James’ 23rd season in the NBA, which will move him out of a tie with Vince Carter for sole possession of the most seasons by a player in NBA history. That’s still a few years shy of the most seasons played marks in other sports which are 27 in MLB (Nolan Ryan, Cap Anson) and 26 in both the NHL (Chris Chelios, Gordie Howe) and the NFL (George Blanda).

Additionally, James needs to play 50 games this year to surpass Robert Parish’s mark for the most regular season games played all-time (1,611). James rarely plays fewer than 55 games in a season, and this nerve injury will make it an uphill battle to reach 50 games, considering the soon-to-be 41-year-old will likely be rested occasionally during the year.

Russell Westbrook

A week ago, Westbrook was unemployed but joined the Sacramento Kings just before the start of the season. That allows him an opportunity to become the newest member of the 10,000-assist club. He’s just 75 dimes away from the milestone, which is all but a given, while another threshold may be more difficult to achieve.

Currently eighth on the all-time assists list with 9,925, according to ESPN, if Westbrook can drop 411 dimes this year, then he’ll pass Magic Johnson, Mark Jackson, and Steve Nash to be in the top five all-time.

Kevin Durant

Speaking of top five all-time, that’s what Kevin Durant is aiming for in his first year in Houston. The four-time scoring champ enters the year with 30,571 career points, good enough for eighth-most. He needs 1,722 points to leap Wilt Chamberlain, Dirk Nowitzki and Michael Jordan to reach the top five on the career scoring list.

That’s an average of just 21 points per game, if Durant plays in all 82 games, but the 37-year-old has been afflicted by the injury bug in recent years. He’s reached 1,722 points just once since leaving the Golden State Warriors six years ago.

Doc Rivers

Not every potential record has to be one you’re proud of, and that could be the case with Doc Rivers if the Bucks make the postseason.

Rivers has 112 playoff losses in his coaching career, making him just three postseason defeats from passing Gregg Popovich for the most losses by a coach in NBA playoff history. If Milwaukee does indeed qualify for the postseason, this is all but a lock to happen as Rivers has lost at least four postseason games in all 21 of the seasons he’s made the playoffs.

Mikal Bridges

The Knicks’ ironman led the NBA in minutes played last season (3,036) marking the third time he’s done that in his career. Doing so again would tie Bridges with Elvin Hayes as a four-time leader, leaving only one man ahead of them. That is the man who tops many NBA lists in Wilt Chamberlain, who led the NBA in minutes played a staggering eight times in his Hall of Fame career.

Victor Wembanyama

The Frenchman has played two NBA seasons, and he’s led the league in blocks per game in both seasons. He averaged 3.83 swatted shots per game in 2024-25, which was the most by any player this millennium.

However, the mark that Wemby can match in 2025-26 is one jointly held by Dikembe Mutombo and Marcus Camby. They are, currently, the only two players in NBA history to be the league’s leading shot-blocker in three straight years, as Wemby can make that a three-man club.

Charlotte Hornets

It’s been nine years of futility for the Hornets, who have missed out on the postseason every year since 2016-17. Another spring without playoff ball would put them in rarified air when it comes to missing out on the postseason.

Just six franchises in the 80-year history of the NBA have gone at least 10 straight years without making the playoffs, with the Phoenix Suns (2011-20) the last to do so. Even if it achieves this dubious record, Charlotte will still have half-a-dozen more years before it could match the all-time record when the Sacramento Kings went 16 straight years without seeing the postseason (2006-22).