With 40th triple-double, LeBron is no Magic -- might not even be Bird
The natural comparison was Michael Jordan. But then we realized LeBron James loves to distribute, and he started racking up the assists, and the triple-doubles followed -- 24 of them in his first six seasons.
So then it became a thing to say LeBron is more Magic Johnson (2nd all-time with 138 triple-doubles) than the other MJ (10th with 28). James recorded his 40th regular-season triple-double (50th including playoffs) in Monday's win over Sacramento, going for 21 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds in three quarters. Forty triple-doubles for a 6-foot-8, 250-pound forward who is just 31 is quite a remarkable feat.
Yet, Monday's triple-double was James' first of the season and just his third since returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers prior to the 2014-15 season.
In his 13th NBA season, James is seventh on the league's all-time triple-double list. He needs four more to pass Fat Lever for sixth. But at his current pace, about one triple-double every 54 games, catching Fat might still be a ways away.
And catching Larry Bird at No. 5, the last non-guard on the list outside of No. 4 Wilt Chamberlain, might be entirely out of the question. In 13 seasons and 897 career games, Bird recorded 59 triple-doubles. James has already played in 961 career games.
In the seven seasons from 2004-11, James averaged about 4.5 triple-doubles. He led the league in triple-doubles in three of those seasons -- noticeably lean years league-wide for triple-doubles -- and was second once. But that's about the pace he's going to need to return to if he's going to have a chance to catch Bird.
However, it's not as if James has just stopped dropping dimes. Hardly. He, and not point guard Kyrie Irving, leads the Cavaliers in assists, averaging 6.4 a game. That's second in the league among forward who have played more than 25 games, behind only Golden State Warriors power forward Draymond Green, who also happens to lead the league this season with 10 triple-doubles.
