At 34 years old, Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James continues to play basketball at a high level. The Lakers are off to a fantastic 6-1 start with their only loss coming on opening night when they dropped a 112-102 decision to the Los Angeles Clippers.
However what James has been able to accomplish this past week deserves very high praise. In his last three games, he has recorded a triple double in each contest. In the Lakers’ 119-110 win in Dallas on November 1, James had 39 points, 16 assists and 12 rebounds. That was followed by 21 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds in the Lakers’ 103-96 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday, and then 30 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds in the Lakers’ 118-112 win over the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday.
James is one of only two players in the National Basketball Association this season to have three triple-doubles. The other is Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks. By being an exceptional shooter, playmaker and defender, James is displaying amazing skills and remains one of the game’s very best.
The Lakers were expected to be better with Anthony Davis in the lineup. Davis was acquired by the Lakers from the New Orleans Pelicans in a blockbuster trade on June 15. It is safe to say that not many people thought that James would be this much better with Davis as his teammate.
Things have not gone well for the Lakers over the last few years. In fact, the last time the Lakers even made the playoffs was 2012-13. That season Steve Nash and Dwight Howard were brought in to play alongside Kobe Bryant. The Lakers had a record of 45 wins and 37 losses, but only finished seventh in the Western Conference and were quickly swept in four games by the San Antonio Spurs.
To put this six-year drought of the Lakers not making the playoffs into perspective, prior to 2012-13, the Lakers had only missed the playoffs five times in their franchise history. When Bryant retired in 2016, the Lakers went through two more seasons of transition before bringing LeBron on board for 2018-19.
Last season the Lakers only went 37-45. James averaged 27.4 points per game, 8.5 rebounds per game and 8.3 assists per game. It was clear that even though James was productive but he needed a better supporting cast. In addition to Davis, Avery Bradley was acquired by the Lakers from the Memphis Grizzlies and Danny Green was acquired by the Lakers from the NBA champion Toronto Raptors on July 6. Davis, Bradley and Green have made the Lakers and James better, and one of the storied franchises in the NBA are now in the position to compete for a title in 2019-20.
