LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers have put the league on notice after going 3-0 on a challenging road trip, bringing their record to 6-1 after six consecutive wins.
While the wins are the most important thing, James managed to break records night after night on the team’s successful road trip to begin the 2019-20 NBA season.
In the first of three games, the Lakers beat the Dallas Mavericks in a thrilling overtime victory. James (7,182) surpassed Jerry West (7,160) for seventh on the all-time free throws made list and is just 58 away from passing Dirk Nowitzki (7,240). However, over 2,600 made free throws still separate him from Karl Malone — who is first (9,787).
In the Mavericks game, James also became the oldest player in NBA history to record at least 30 points, 10 rebounds, and 15 assists in one game. And as a side note, Luka Doncic became the youngest to do so in that same game. The Lakers wound up winning the game 119-110.
In the second game, the Lakers faced off against the San Antonio Spurs. James continued his tear by tacking on another triple-double. While not as historically great as the first one (21/11/13), it did lead him to setting some team history. James became the first Laker to record back-to-back triple-doubles since Lamar Odom did it in 2006. This helped lead the Lakers to a 103-96 win in San Antonio.
Finally, in the third and final game — a 118-112 comeback win over the Chicago Bulls — James managed to set even more impressive records. He recorded a third consecutive triple-double, leading to a piece of team and league history.
On the Lakers side, James became the first player since Magic Johnson in 1984 to record three consecutive triple-doubles. On the NBA side, James beat out former Mavericks guard and current assistant coach Jason Kidd to become the oldest player to accomplish this feat.