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Imago

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Imago

LeBron James recorded his first triple-double of his 23rd NBA season. While the Lakers had a comfortable win, fans sat holding their breath. Because in the last minutes, James waited for a rebound to complete his triple-double. However, right when he was about to grab his 10th board, Austin Reaves jumped in front of him and took the rebound.

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With just over three minutes remaining, the Lakers had a 16-point lead. Without realizing that his teammate was on the verge of a historic stat line, Reaves grabbed a wide-open rebound off of PJ Washington’s miss from beyond the arc.

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Right after JJ Redick called the timeout, Reaves realized his mistake and turned towards his teammate to apologize.

“My fault,” he told James on the bench.

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Fans didn’t have to wait for long.

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James came back on the first possession and did a Kyrie Irving shifty move for a layup. Two possessions later, Jaxon Hayes flinched away from the rebound from Tyus Jones’ missed three-pointer. LeBron took the rebound, and history was created.

After the game, Reaves detailed what had happened during halftime.

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The Lakers guard revealed that his teammates piled up on him after he took the rebound.

“Everybody on the team yelled at me,” he said after the game. “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), and I looked at him and said, ‘Shoot, my fault.'”

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At 41 years and 44 days old, James became the oldest player in NBA history to have recorded a triple-double. He passed Karl Malone, who had held the record for the past 22 years. He grabbed his 10th rebound with just over two minutes remaining in the game. James finished the game with 28 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds.

Considered arguably the most complete player in basketball history, the four-time NBA champion is no stranger to triple-doubles. While it was the 122nd regular-season game of his career, it held a special place.

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LeBron James gets honest about why his 23rd season triple-double was special

It was 20 years ago that LeBron James recorded his first triple-double.

At 6’9″ with gifted athleticism and impeccable understanding of the game, recording a triple-double for the NBA’s leading scorer was not a big deal when he was in his prime. But LeBron ranked this among his special ones.

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“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 after the game. “You definitely take it in a little bit more.”

James had come close to setting the record on multiple occasions, but could do it only in the last game before the All-Star Break. There is almost nothing that James can’t do on the floor, but he has long defined and prided himself on being the pass-first player.

“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.”

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And now, LeBron James is getting ready to make his record 22nd All-Star appearance next week.

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