Dave McMenamin, ESPN Staff Writer
SAN ANTONIO — Last year, LeBron James made history by being named MVP of the first in-season tournament. He made some personal history Friday night when the Los Angeles Lakers started their tournament defense.
James scored the Lakers’ final four points in a 120–115 win over the San Antonio Spurs in the group stage, completing his fourth consecutive triple-double with 15 points, 16 rebounds, and 12 assists. His 22 season career.
And on a night when he said he “played badly” and “wasn’t in a good rhythm” after recording a season-low 12 shot attempts and committing a season-high seven turnovers. I did it.
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“The best thing about my game was being able to impact the game even if I didn’t have the rhythm of the offense,” James said. “We were able to do that tonight.”
It was the 1,504th regular season game of James’ career, and the 39-year-old star surpassed 57,000 minutes played in the regular season, tying him with John Stockton for fifth all-time. James was asked what surprised him more, breaking his own triple-double streak at this stage in his career or that it took him so long to accomplish it.
“I probably did it in season 22,” he said after his 117th career triple-double, fifth most all-time. “It takes a lot to still have the energy and effort to do that. But it also takes great teammates along the way. Those assists are great when a player is making a shot. It just happens and I just try to put the ball on target and then try to score on target and then rebound on defense and help on the glass with (Anthony Davis) and the other guys. , trying to add points little by little from time to time.
“But waiting 22 years to do something is wild, and that’s a good question.”
James achieved the feat twice by Russell Westbrook (December 25-31, 2021) and Magic Johnson (March 28, 1981-November 3, 1981, March 31, 1981-April 5, 1981) ) tied the Lakers’ franchise record for consecutive triple-doubles. 1987).
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Davis led Los Angeles with 40 points and 12 rebounds. Austin Reeves (19 points), Dalton Knecht (14 points), D’Angelo Russell (13 points) and Max Christie (11 points) also scored in double figures.
“I think when Bron has that mindset of dominating the game, it just empowers everyone else to step up and make shots,” Reeves said. “And obviously AD is going to do what AD does. He’s been doing it every night so far this year.”
James is currently averaging 9.6 assists per game, second in his career and this season in the NBA behind Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets (11.7) and Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks (11.3). He has the third-highest assist total.
James noted that his usage rate was a career-low 27.2%.
“So the ball isn’t in my hands as much as it used to be,” he said. “But I still haven’t found a way and the players have found a way to give me the ball. And I can find them in the half court or in early transition. They can make knockdown shots and There is.”
Lakers coach JJ Redick praised James for setting an example by putting his body on the boards, which was a goal of the group’s coaching staff. Twelve games into the 82-game season, the Lakers sit fifth in the Western Conference with an 8-4 record, but James’ presence makes it difficult for Redick to run his playbook with the team. is becoming easier.
“I think the biggest thing we’ve seen as a staff is that as we continue to build out our offensive system and play-calling sheet, it’s become a lot easier for him and the AD to get the ball to the right spots. ,” Reddick said.
