In a game LeBron James might otherwise want to forget — a 125-110 home loss to the Kings where the Lakers never led and trailed by 26 in the fourth — he set another milestone, passing Jason Kidd for fifth all-time in NBA triple-doubles.
It was a historic night for LeBron all around as LeBron — with 28 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds — became the second oldest player ever to record a triple-double (Karl Malone at age 40).
A historic night for LeBron 👑
— NBA (@NBA) November 16, 2023
- 28 PTS, 10 REB, 11 AST
- Moves to 8th all-time in 3PM
- Moves to 5th all-time in triple-doubles
- Becomes the 2nd oldest player in NBA history to record a triple-double pic.twitter.com/rALlGvwNnh
After the game, LeBron was asked about Kidd and what he took away from the Hall of Famer and his former Olympics teammate (via Dave McMenamin of ESPN).
“Make your teammates better, no matter what. Can never do it individually, can never do it by yourself. Also, communication. I think those are two things I took from [Kidd] that I’ve been able to apply. The third thing I haven’t been able to apply and will never be able to apply, and that’s patience. That’s just not in my nature. He does a great job of it, though. So I got two out of three.”
LeBron is averaging 24.6 points, 8.6 rebounds and six assists a game this season, carrying more of a load for the Lakers than he should have to. While other players have played at LeBron’s age 38 and older — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Malone, others — none have played near as well. As much as that’s a tribute to LeBron physically and how he takes care of his body, it’s also a tribute to his mental focus and toughness.
“That’s the only way that you can play as long as I’ve played is be able to try to keep your mind as fresh as possible,” LeBron said after the Lakers beat the Grizzlies Tuesday night. “I understand that every season is a marathon and you have to break up parts of the season in order to kind of get through it mentally. But it definitely helps when you have three kids that’s running around and doing their own things in their own individual lives. So I get a lot of inspiration from them. Get a lot of inspiration from my wife and my mom and my family and friends so they keep me fresh as well.
“I try to do a good job of sleeping. You know, when I’m not, I’m not playing Madden, or drinking a bottle of wine — I actually drink wine and play Madden at the same time — but I try to do a good job of sleeping and I think that helps to have a lot with your mental when you’re able to get some good night’s rest.”
