LeBron James becomes oldest NBA player with a triple-double in Lakers’ win

LeBron James was full of joy before the Lakers took on the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night, dancing, laughing, running around, his infectious energy the driving force behind his team’s easy victory and yet another NBA record for a man who already has so many.

James had a triple-double of 28 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds to lead the Lakers to a 124-104 victory over the Mavericks, making him, at 41, the oldest player in league history to achieve a triple-double, surpassing Karl Malone.

James explained why he was so joyful before the game that left the Lakers 33-21 and in fifth place in the tough Western Conference.

“It’s still me. I’m a stupid 41-year-old kid,” James said with a laugh. “I think people should know that by now, right? It’s just me. I play basketball. They pay me to play basketball. Why wouldn’t I be happy? I get to be with my son (Bronny James) and my teammates and all these amazing fans that have watched me throughout my career and they give me all their support and love. I love what I do. Have fun. You see me on the court, you see me at the back. I love what I do. It’s pretty cool.”

James now has 123 triple-doubles in his career, which ranks fifth in league history during the regular season.

LeBron James scores two of his 28 points.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

“Victory. It’s the most important [thing]”, James said. “And to be able to do that and get the victory, that means more to me than anything. But I’m very lucky to play this match, to play it at a high level and I was able to do it again tonight.

James started the game playing with purpose.

Luka Doncic missed his fourth straight game with left leg soreness, leaving the Lakers shorthanded again.

So James took charge, scoring 14 points in the first quarter and dishing out six assists. He wanted to make sure the Lakers entered the All-Star break this weekend on a winning note.

“I think my only mindset was how can we approach the break on a good note,” James said. “And obviously this (Dallas) team, no matter who’s on the floor for them, is well-coached and they’re going to play hard. And they did that for the majority of the game tonight. But I just tried to set the tone and finish the first half of the season on a good note.”

James is still playing at a high level in his NBA-record 23rd season and has given no indication of when he will retire.

It reminded him of his comments from a few years ago, when James said he could play another four or five years.

Does he feel the same way now?

“Could I? Yeah, I could. But I don’t know,” James said. “It’s not like my game… My game isn’t going anywhere. It’s just my body. There are so many other factors that depend on how long I’m going to play the game. I don’t think my game will ever suffer if I decide to continue, however long that may last.

LeBron James reacts after scoring a three-pointer against the Mavericks in the first half.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

“I just think it has to be here (points to mind). How long can I stay in love with the process? Because that’s always been my thing. If I can’t keep staying in love with the process, then if this happens, then my body is going to go. And once my body goes, it’s gone. Then the love goes, and then the fun and all that goes away.

“So that’s it. It’s not my game that’s deteriorating. Obviously, there are things I could have done when I was 25 versus when I was 35, and 35 to 41 or 21 to 31 or 41. But I have so much knowledge about the game that I know how to continue to make an impact even if I’m not a 45, 43, 41 vertical. I can still do so many things on the ground.”

James missed the first 14 games of the season due to sciatica. This meant he couldn’t practice during the summer and he couldn’t practice during training camp.

James admitted this because his season had started so slowly that he had doubts about whether or not he could compete at his same high level.

“Yeah, sure. It’s human nature. Sure. Sure,” James said. “I’ve never been able to work on my game and adjust my game and detail it for a good amount of time in the offseason. And I don’t like to go into the season without the best possible state, the best possible shape that I could be in.

“I didn’t have that opportunity. I didn’t have the opportunity to be in preseason, I didn’t have the opportunity to have training camp, I didn’t have the opportunity to play the first part of the regular season, I missed the first 14 games.

“So, absolutely. Doubt creeps into your mind to see if you can get back into shape and make an impact. But as the weeks started and my body started to feel a lot better, and it was always the second or third day after a hard workout that I was bouncing back, I started to realize that it was going to take me a while to get back into rhythm. As you saw, probably the first few games when I got back to how out of rhythm I was, but I knew it wouldn’t take too long.