The Los Angeles Lakers are locked in for the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament. James was firing on all cylinders on Thursday on both ends of the court after he duplicated a rare defensive feat not seen since 2013.

The Lakers star took three charges in the first half of the Los Angeles-New Orleans game. James had just three charges on the entire season before the matchup. This is the second time the legend has taken three changes in a single game since the 2013-14 season when the metric began being tracked.

After the Lakers' 133-89 blowout of the New Orleans Pelicans, James was asked whether he was too old to be taking charges, and he had a hilarious answer, courtesy of Action Network:

James is of course referring to the $500,000 grand prize that each player on the championship team will receive.

The Lakers head to the championship game to face the Indiana Pacers on Saturday behind the play of James, who did it all on Thursday night.

James became the first player in league history to ever finish with 30 points, five rebounds and five assists in 23 minutes or less on Thursday and showed that, even at his age, he can still be the best player on the floor in big moments.

After the game, LeBron didn't want to compare the NBA In-Season Championship to an actual NBA championship:

“Listen, it’s still December, so I’m not getting too crazy about the whole thing,” he told TNT's Allie LaForce in an on-court interview after the final buzzer. “I understand this thing has been great, the in-season tournament. But it’s still December, you know?

The Lakers take on the Pacers from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday.