LeBron James says he gets better every month. We checked and he does.

“I could play better,” LeBron James said Wednesday morning.

Athletes often say this. Perfect is the enemy of good, as the aphorism goes, but so many times we’ve watched stars light up our television screen and then bemoan minuscule mistakes that they made. In James’ case, the 32-year-old has started this season playing some of the best basketball of a legendary career — and he’s telling us to expect even more.

“For me, every month, I get better and better,” James continued. “That’s always how I’ve been in my career. I get stronger and stronger as the months go on. I just want to continue getting better and better every month.”

Another player, and we might shrug this aside as athlete-speak. But this is LeBron James, whose basketball prowess is unmatched and whose brain works in unfamiliar ways. His words looked precocious later that Wednesday, when James led the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 13th straight win with 32-point, 11-rebound, nine-assist performance. He shot 12 of 18 from the field and threw passes so brilliant his teammates couldn’t even convert them all.

James also hit five three-pointers, including the game-clinching one. We praised him last year for being better than ever, but now he has even solved the one missing piece of his game, as James is shooting 43 percent behind the arc this season.

Fine, then. Ignoring anything that James says as “athlete-speak” is a mistake. James said that he gets better and better every month of the year, and we can prove whether he’s right. Here are James’ career splits, separated by month.

LeBron James, by the month

CAREER	PTS	AST	TS%	USG%	ORtg
CAREER	PTS	AST	TS%	USG%	ORtg
October	22.7	7.5	57.7	29.5	110
November	26.6	7.1	59.1	31	117
December	26.7	6.9	58.5	31.6	115
January	27.9	7.2	58	32.4	116
February	27.3	7.4	58.4	31.8	117
March	27.4	7	58.4	31.8	117
April	28.4	6.7	59.7	32.4	120

James really does get better month to month

It’s not a direct, linear rise from October from April, and James is damn good in any month. But he’s right. Of course he’s right. This is LeBron James, and he knows exactly how good he is at all times.

James’ worst month is October and his best, April. The numbers fluctuate somewhat, but he’s consistently better in the season’s final three months than the first three. You can see James slowly get more aggressive throughout the year, with his assist figures lowest in March and April, while his usage rate climbs higher. But he’s also more efficient later in the year, and his offenses are at their best, too. (The offensive rating used in this graphic comes from the irreplaceable basketball-reference.com.)

No, James doesn’t continue his improvement into the playoffs: His career postseason averages are 28.4 points, 6.9 assists, a 57.4 True Shooting percentage, 31.9 usage rate, and 115 offensive rating. Against stiffer defenses in grueling seven-game series, that’s to be expected.

But improving on this season would be special

On Monday, SB Nation’s Tom Ziller ranked all 15 seasons in James’ career. It’s premature to rank this season, but so far, it’s his fourth-best season ever. (James has won four MVPs, let us remind you.)

James could remain at exactly this same level and no one would bat an eye. James could decline slightly and still be a deserved MVP candidate. James could decline more than that and still be better than virtually anyone in the league. That’s how good he has been.

But that’s not what James said. James said he’s going to keep getting better, because that’s what he does throughout his career, and who are we to doubt him?

James is scoring the fifth-most points of his career — and most since his first stint in Cleveland — and he’s doing it on an almost impossible 66.8 True Shooting percentage. Only two players have ever averaged more than 28 points with a True Shooting percentage better than 66 in a full season — Stephen Curry in the 2015-16 season, and Charles Barkley in 1987-88. We know that James has never come close to that barrier before, so it would be logical to expect him to fall off just a little bit. There’s nearly three-fourths of a season left, and LeBron James will still be LeBron James if this figures slip just a little.

But ... James says he can be even better. Out of everyone, he would know, and I don’t want to be the one to doubt him.

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