Lakers' star LeBron James claims he could have averaged 50 ppg in high school

The Los Angeles Lakers suffered a quick elimination from the postseason as they were bounced in five games by the Minnesota Timberwolves. While LeBron James' hopes of winning a fifth championship won't be realized this season, the superstar has remained in the limelight with his Mind the Game podcast.

The four-time MVP recently shared that he believes he could have averaged 50 points per game in his final two years of high school, however, that wasn't the style of basketball he was taught to play. Co-host Steve Nash asked James how he dealt with criticism for not taking the last shot, which led him to revisit his high school days.

"I just stay true to what got me to that point," LeBron James stated Tuesday. "I knew I was taught the game the right way as a kid because we won. It worked. It worked. It really worked. When I got to the NBA, I won three state championships in high school. I thought it was something that all NBA players did. If you're one of the best players in the world, or you're one of the best players on your high school team, you should be able to win a state championship. And I got in the NBA and there were a lot of guys that never won a state championship, that never won an AAU National Finals, that never won. And I was like, 'Oh my goodness, I absolutely was taught the game the right way."

"We all succeeded and had fun doing it, like, it brought so much enjoyment to be able to play the game the right way," James continued. "I never averaged more than 30 points in high school. I think my highest average was like 27, 28, I believe. It wasn't about that. I could average 50 points a game if I wanted to, probably my junior and senior year. But it was never about that. It was about, how can I maximize my teammates? How can I get the most out of my teammates in order for all of us to be successful?"

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James added that he believed in order for him to win in the NBA, he couldn't abandon what made him fall in love with the game. He pointed to Game 5 of the 2020 NBA Finals as a time that he faced criticism for not taking the last shot.

Despite the Lakers' star's focus on maximizing his teammates, he has still become the NBA's all-time leading scorer. 2024-25 marked the first year since James' rookie season where he failed to average at least 25.0 ppg, ending a 20-year streak.

More NBA: Charles Barkley ranks Lakers' star LeBron James as the seventh-best player all-time