LeBron’s Last Single-Digit Game: Cavs at Bucks, Jan. 5, 2007
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Before LeBron James’ run of 1,125 consecutive regular-season games with at least 10 points began, the four-time MVP logged a rare off night on Jan. 5, 2007. Playing 43 minutes in Milwaukee, James shot 3-for-13 and finished with eight points as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Bucks 95-86.
Asked recently about the streak that started that night, James admitted he had no recollection. “Really? I don’t remember it,” he told ESPN.
The forgotten box score
James’ teammates struggle to recall it as well. “If you’d asked me, ‘Do you remember having 30-plus and LeBron being in single digits?’ I would have expected to have some kind of memory of it,” former Cleveland forward Drew Gooden said with a laugh. Donyell Marshall, now an assistant with the G League’s Greensboro Swarm, added, “When I looked at the box score I was like, ‘Well, I didn’t do anything either.’”
One coach remembers clearly
Then-Bucks head coach Terry Stotts can still replay the closing seconds. With 14.8 seconds left, Milwaukee’s Michael Redd dunked to cut the deficit to nine but injured his knee on the play, an ailment that sidelined him for 20 games. The Bucks went 3-17 in that span, and Stotts was dismissed two months later.
Inside the streak
The Jan. 5 contest became the starting point of one of the NBA’s most durable scoring runs. Highlights and near misses include:
- March 20, 2021 vs. Atlanta – James sprained an ankle but stayed on the floor long enough to sink a three-pointer and reach 10 points before exiting.
- April 11, 2018 vs. New York – needing to appear in all 82 games, he scored 10 in 11 minutes and immediately checked out.
- March 30, 2018 vs. New Orleans – he surpassed Michael Jordan’s previous record of 866 consecutive double-digit games.
James says he rarely tracks his own scoring during games, focusing instead on turnovers and transition defense numbers. “I see it,” he said of his point total, “but I don’t look at it too much.”
Teammates reflect
Gooden, who finished with 31 points in that 2007 meeting, plans to show the box score to his 10-year-old son. “He’s a huge LeBron fan,” Gooden said. “There’s data to back it up.” Marshall, who played 957 career games, called the streak more impressive than the rare single-digit outing itself: “It’s actually more surprising he ever scored under 10.”
James’ run eventually climbed to 1,297 games before ending on Dec. 4, 2025 in Toronto, nearly 19 years after that January night in Milwaukee.
Source: ESPN
