LeBron James is surely making a case as the early Most Valuable Player of the 2019-20 NBA season as he led the Los Angeles Lakers in a comeback win over the Chicago Bulls.
The victory extends the team’s winning streak to six and they now own the best record in the league — an impressive feat when one considers all the questions that arose after their Opening Night defeat to the Los Angeles Clippers.
James was masterful throughout the entire night as he was able to keep the team afloat offensively and later kicked it into gear in the second half. The four-time MVP eventually finished the night with his third straight triple-double with totals of 30 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists.
The 34-year-old explained how he has been able to earn the statistical feat but downplayed what they actually mean to him, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“I don’t know. Just try to be in the right place at the right time. Being a triple-threat on the floor. I trust my teammates to make shots, I just try to put the ball on time and on target and they’ve been doing that. Defensively, trying to rebound as much as I can even though I’m playing the point guard position. And then scoring, just trying to read the defense, pick my spots, and just try to be aggressive.
It comes with team success for me, triple-double means absolutely nothing to me if it’s not in a win. This is three wins for us and I feel pretty happy about the way we’ve performed.”
James is the first Lakers player to post three consecutive triple-doubles since Magic Johnson did it, but he has clearly made it known that winning games is his utmost priority. That kind of thinking is exactly the reason why Los Angeles is in the position they are in now and they are much better for it going forward.
With James handling point guard duties, it is no surprise that he is able to accumulate such impressive stats as he is often starting nearly every possession with the ball in his hands. This leads to numerous opportunities for him to score or dish to teammates and naturally the points and assists begin to organically stack up.
At 6-1, the purple and gold are absolutely rolling and have some serious momentum heading into their next matchup with a tough-nosed Miami Heat team.
Hopefully, James and the Lakers are able to keep up the defensive intensity and notch their seventh win of the season.