LeBron James, 41, makes more NBA history as oldest player to post triple-double | LeBron James

In the 23rd season of the longest career in NBA history, LeBron James continues to post triple-doubles – against the Dallas Mavericks and on Father Time.

James became the oldest player to record a triple-double on Thursday night, accomplishing the feat at 41 years and 44 days old in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 124-104 home victory over the Mavericks.

James had 28 points and 12 assists when he grabbed his 10th rebound with 2:06 left. He received a standing ovation from the Lakers crowd when he recorded his 123rd career triple-double, the fifth in NBA history.

James broke the record held for 22 years by Karl Malone, who recorded his last triple-double for the Lakers at the age of 40 years and 127 days.

“I guess I appreciate moments like this more in my career, understanding where I am, at the final stage of my journey,” James said. “You definitely take a little more.”

Even though simple statistics and longevity records don’t do much for James at this point in his storied career, he respects the triple-double as a particularly good measure of the high standard he maintains on the court.

Despite missing 18 games this season due to injury, James was no charity case when he was picked for his 22nd All-Star Game this weekend, and he proved it by dominating the Mavericks while Luka Doncic was out with a hamstring strain.

“I think what it represents is pretty cool — the fact that you can go out and make an impact in three facets of the game,” James said. “Rebounding. Assists, obviously, is what I love the most. Being able to get my guys involved, throughout my career, I’ve always loved that more than anything. And being able to put the ball in the basket, that’s part of this game as well. So I think what that means, being able to have your hand in three facets of the game, having an impact in all three facets, it’s pretty cool.”

James’ play has remained largely exceptional when healthy this season, and he has reiterated his belief that he can continue almost indefinitely at this level. He entered this game averaging 21.8 points, 6.9 assists and 5.7 rebounds, and the Lakers are in the thick of the Western Conference playoff race despite playing only 10 games with James, Doncic and Austin Reaves simultaneously healthy.

But the top scorer in NBA history had not achieved a triple-double since February 1, 2025, in New York. This day is best remembered for the latest late-night news about the seismic trade that brought Doncic to the Lakers.

Malone held the record for oldest player with a triple-double since he had 10 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists on November 28, 2003, during his final NBA season. James recorded the next 15 triple-doubles on this list, and he came close to setting the record several times over the past year, but didn’t actually reach it until the Lakers’ final game before the All-Star break.

With Doncic absent during his former team’s visit, James was aggressive and active from the first tip as he returned from his own injury absence during the Lakers’ loss to San Antonio on Tuesday.

After dancing happily during pregame warmups and shouting in the tunnel when he took the court, James had 14 points and six assists in the first quarter alone against Dallas. It accounted for the Lakers’ first 23 points of the game.

James had 18 points, eight assists and four rebounds at halftime. He surpassed double digits in assists during the third quarter, but he didn’t come out of the game during the fourth quarter before grabbing the three rebounds needed to get the triple-double.

He almost had it a few possessions earlier, but Reaves beat him to a board – and was listened to by the rest of the Lakers.

“Everyone on the team yelled at me,” Reaves said. “I don’t find myself looking at the stats during the game, so we went to the bench and everyone told me about it. He didn’t, but everyone [else]and I looked at him and said, “Shoot, it’s my fault.” »

After his streak of 20 consecutive All-Star Game appearances ended due to injury last year, James will be back in the midseason showcase Sunday at the Intuit Dome. James is ineligible for inclusion on his 22nd All-NBA team this season due to his missed games, including the first 14 of the season due to sciatica.

James has 152 career triple-doubles if you include the playoffs.