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At this point, I don't need to tell you that LeBron James' presence in the NBA record book is just as frequent as Jay Gatsby's in The Great Gatsby. So it shouldn't come as a huge surprise to learn that in the Los Angeles Lakers' victory over the Sacramento Kings on Saturday night, The King himself put his name in the record book once again.
Per StatMamba, LeBron James is the first player in NBA history to record a double-double (and triple-double) in their 22nd season. Now in fairness, only LeBron and Vince Carter have played 22 seasons in the NBA, so there's not a deep pool of competition for this distinction. But let's look at a record based on age alone… at 39 years and 301 days old, LeBron James became the oldest player in NBA history to post game-high totals in points, rebounds and assists, per ESPN Stats and Info.
After the game, Lakers first-year head coach JJ Redick said it best:
“What can you say?” JJ Redick said following the game, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. “We've all been very fortunate to watch his greatness for so long, and the fact that he's able to keep doing it, it's just — it's actually insane.”
It is insane. It's insane that the 17-year-old who was once dubbed “The Chosen One” has managed to live up to, if not exceed that billing. And with each passing year, it gets even more amazing.
“Just when you think he's slowing down, man, he continues to show the world why he's the greatest,” Anthony Davis said of James after the win. “He never ceases to amaze any of us because we just know what he's capable of and what he's able to do.”
Lakers ride LeBron James, Anthony Davis to first 3-0 start since 2010
For as impressive as LeBron James was on Saturday night, delivering a 32 point, 14 rebound, 10 assist triple-double, it's fair to say that over the course of the Lakers' first three games, Anthony Davis has been even more impressive than his elder teammate. Davis has topped the 30-point mark in each of LA's three victories while shooting a scalding hot 57 percent from the field in the process.
After the win over the Kings, LeBron James was quick to praise Davis, and a number of his Lakers teammates as well.
“I have the luxury of having a MVP-caliber player next to me [in Anthony Davis]. AR [Austin Reaves] can get it going in bunches. D-Lo [D'Angelo Russell] can catch fire. Rui [Hachimura] has been consistent, and he can get going and score in bunches, as well. So, this team is not built for me to have 16-point quarters through all four quarters. That's not how it's constructed and nor should it be. We're a team, and we all play together.”
And if that's something that continues throughout the entirety of the season, maybe we need to be taking the Lakers a little more serious than we have over the last couple of seasons.
