LeBron James is no longer a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, but he made his mark on the franchise during his eight years with it. He consistently played at a high level during that time, even if certain aspects of his game had clearly slipped, and he delivered an NBA championship in 2020.
As we take a look at James’ greatest performances as a member of the Lakers in chronological order, we look back at a contest against the Denver Nuggets early in the 2018-19 season when he had his first triple-double with the team.
Los Angeles was 1-3 and had just gotten its first win of the season when it hosted the Nuggets on Oct. 25. The Nuggets were then a young team on the rise, and they had won each of their first four games en route to a 54-28 finish and the second seed in the Western Conference.
The first three quarters of this game were competitive, but L.A. fell behind 106-98 with just over six minutes to go. Forward Lance Stephenson jump-started the team with eight straight points, including back-to-back 3-pointers. James came back into the game with 3:49 left and the team down 108-107.
He had five points and one assist down the stretch to secure a 121-114 victory, giving him 28 points on 10-of-17 shooting, 11 rebounds, 11 assists and three steals. It was James’ 74th career triple-double and his first of 52 triple-doubles with the Lakers.
The great Kobe Bryant was in attendance that evening, and perhaps his presence inspired James and the Lakers to motor their way past Nikola Jokic and crew.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: LeBron James’ greatest games with the Lakers: First triple-double
Reporting by Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire / LeBron Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire | USA TODAY Network
