The NBA All-Star Game took place this past weekend in Los Angeles. However, the bigger story when it came to basketball in Los Angeles came this past Thursday when LeBron James of the Lakers continued to make basketball history.
In a dominant 124-104 Lakers win over the Dallas Mavericks, James became the oldest player in NBA history to record a triple double at 41 years and 44 days old. James had 28 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds for his first triple double of the season and 123rd of his NBA career.
James is fifth all-time in NBA triple doubles. He is behind Russell Westbrook (207), Nikola Jokic (184), Oscar Robertson (181) and Magic Johnson (138).
The previous oldest player to record a triple double was former Los Angeles Lakers power forward Karl Malone of Summerfield, Louisiana. Malone had 10 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in a 103-87 Lakers win over the San Antonio Spurs on November 28, 2003 at the age of 40 years and 127 days old.
This season, James is still contributing at a high level for the Lakers. He is averaging 22 points per game, 7.1 assists per game, 5.8 rebounds per game, and 1.1 steals per game. James had a field goal percentage of .502, three point percentage of .305, and free throw percentage of .746. To keep with the 22 theme, James was an All-Star this past weekend for the 22nd time, which is a NBA record too.
The Lakers are currently in fifth place in the Western Conference. They are at 33 wins and 21 losses for a winning percentage of .611. The Lakers’s first game after the All-Star Break is Friday against the Los Angeles Clippers.
