MJ averaged fewer than two fouls per game only in his last two seasons, and never as few as James’ current 1.72. Among some of the great perimeter players in history, at a time when substantially more perimeter contact was allowed, Larry Bird averaged about 2.5 fouls, Magic Johnson 2.26 and Jerry West and Oscar Robertson well above two per game.
James is averaging 1.72 fouls per game in an average of 37.9 minutes per game. James hasn’t even been in foul trouble one game this season. He never has had more than four fouls called on him in a game, and since March 1 is being called for fewer than 1.3 fouls per game.
In 12 of the 20 games since then, James has been called for one or zero fouls in a game. James had a stretch of five straight games to conclude March averaging 36.8 minutes per game without being called for one foul. Not one in five games! In the last nine games, James has been called for three personal fouls. It’s really amazing given the involvement James has in the action of the game.
How is this even possible? Mikki Moore can't play for more than 10 minutes without fouling out. If an official can find 6 infractions on Moore in such a short time, surely they can find 2 or 3 on Bron Bron over 40+ minutes.
Seeing stats like this is insulting to the fans. It is tacit acknowledgement that the league protects its stars and especially its STAR. I am curious to see what Kobe's foul numbers look like. If I were him and I averaged more than 2 per game, that would not sit well.
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