Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, who is now playing in his 17th season and soon approaching 35-years-old proved he is far from “washed” on Tuesday night. The star not only powered a comeback over the Chicago Bulls but made history in the process.
James is the first Lakers player to record three-straight triple-doubles since Magic Johnson in 1987. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he is also the oldest player to do so, surpassing the mark previously held by Jason Kidd. He is now averaging 26.1 ppg, 8.3 rpg, and a league-leading 11.1 apg through seven games this season.
Jay Cohen of the Associated Press revealed James’ comments after the game, and not surprisingly, the Lakers star cared far more about a victory than his own stat line.
“It comes with team success for me… A triple-double means absolutely nothing to me if it’s not in a win.”
The Lake Show Rallied by LeBron James
While topping the Bulls 118-112 James posted 30 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists sending the Lakers to their sixth straight win. The first two games of his triple-double streak were against the Dallas Mavericks with 39 points, 12 rebounds, and 16 assists and against the San Antonio Spurs with 21 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists.
30 PTS | 11 AST | 10 REB
👑 @KingJames puts up his third-straight TRIPLE-DOUBLE in the @Lakers‘ sixth-straight win! #LakeShow
While James was the star of the show, he had the help of his teammates in order to execute a notable performance to defeat the Bulls. James kept the Lakers alive in the first half, scoring 16 points. Chicago built a 19-point lead in the second quarter but that quickly changed after halftime as they pulled off a jaw-dropping comeback, dominating in the second half.
Alex Caruso, Quinn Cook, Troy Daniels, Kyle Kuzma, and Dwight Howard played a role in fueling a 14-0 run to take a 94-93 lead. Kuzma impressed scoring 11 of his 15 points in the final period during his third appearance after missing the beginning of the season due to an ankle injury. King James then helped close out the victory after he checked in with 8:37 remaining allowing the Lakers to come out on top.
James’ Tweet Silences Haters
Following James’ historic moment he jumped on twitter to respond with a simple message that flooded in comments and retweets. James quote-tweeted a note from the official Lakers account celebrating his third straight triple-double, and wrote “#WashedKing” next to two emojis, one of which was doing the “shh” sign, while the other was a crown.
This also is not the first time James has embraced the “Washed King” phrase. In August of 2019, he wrote “#washedking” on a video of him practicing and posted it on his Instagram story.
LeBron in the lab sharpening his tool kit 💪(via @KingJames)
Coming into the 2019-20 season which is one of the most competitive in recent years, there were legitimate questions about whether or not James still had it in him to carry this Lakers team to a championship. The talk of James slowing down as he got older began shortly after a groin injury limited him to a career-low 55 games last season. It is not hard to believe that after 17 seasons many wonder if James will perform the way he has in the past. As of late, James has proven to still be as explosive as he was when he first entered the league as an 18-year-old. Although these doubts have been weighing on his shoulders, it didn’t stop him from proving himself.
Los Angeles now has a couple days off following a solid 3-0 road trip before resuming to play at home Friday night against Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat.
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Lakers’ LeBron James Trolls Critics After Historic Triple-Double