In his 23rd NBA season, the longest career in league history, LeBron James is still rewriting the record book and defying time.

At 41 years and 44 days old, James became the oldest player in NBA history to post a triple-double, doing so in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 124-104 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night.

He sealed it with 2:06 remaining, grabbing his 10th rebound to go with 28 points and 12 assists. Moments later, he checked out to a standing ovation, recording the 123rd triple-double of his career, the fifth-most in NBA history.

In the process, James surpassed Karl Malone, who had held the record for 22 years after recording his final triple-double with the Lakers at 40 years, 127 days old.

Two decades on, Father Time is still chasing. James is still leading.

“I guess I’m more appreciative of moments like this in my career, understanding where I’m at at the later stage of my journey,” James said. “You definitely take it in a little bit more.”

While statistics and longevity records do not carry the same weight for James at this stage of his career, he said he values triple-doubles as a measure of his overall impact.

Although he has missed 18 games this season because of injury, James was no ceremonial selection to his 22nd All-Star Game this weekend. He showed why 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 have an impact in three facets of the game,” James said. “Rebounding. The assists, obviously, are 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 it means, to be able to have your hand in three facets of the game, making an impact in those three, that’s pretty cool.”

James has remained highly productive when healthy. He reiterated his belief that he can continue playing at this level for years to come. He entered the game averaging 21.8 points, 6.9 assists and 5.7 rebounds. The Lakers are in the thick of the Western Conference playoff race despite playing only 10 games with James, Doncic and Austin Reaves all healthy.

The NBA’s all-time leading scorer had not recorded a triple-double since Feb. 1, 2025, at New York. That day is remembered more for the late-night news of the trade that brought Doncic to the Lakers.

Malone had been the oldest player to post a triple-double since recording 10 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists on Nov. 28, 2003, in his final NBA season. James now owns the next 15 spots on that list. He had come close several times over the past year before finally breaking the record in the Lakers’ final game before the All-Star break.

With Doncic sidelined as his former team visited, James was aggressive from the opening tip, returning from his own injury absence in Tuesday’s loss to San Antonio.

After an animated pregame warmup, James scored 14 points and had six assists in the first quarter. He was involved in the Lakers’ first 23 points. By halftime, he had 18 points, eight assists and four rebounds. He reached double figures in assists during the third quarter and stayed in the game long enough in the fourth to secure the three rebounds he needed.

He nearly secured the milestone earlier, but Reaves grabbed a rebound in front of him.

“Everybody on the team yelled at me,” Reaves said. “I don’t catch myself looking at the stats during the game, so we went to the bench and everybody let me know about it. He didn’t, but everybody else. I looked at him and said, ‘Shoot, my fault.’”

After his streak of 20 consecutive All-Star Game appearances ended last year because of injury, James will return to the midseason showcase Sunday at Intuit Dome. He is ineligible for All-NBA consideration this season because of missed games, including the first 14 while dealing with sciatica.

Including the playoffs, James has 152 career triple-doubles.

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