Triple-Double History: Lakers' Star LeBron James Reveals 2 Things He 'Took' From Dallas Mavs Coach Jason Kidd

Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James made more NBA history on Wednesday night, passing Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd on the all-time triple-doubles list.

Dalton Trigg | Nov 16, 2023

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The Los Angeles Lakers are off to an underwhelming start based on where expectations were after making it to the Western Conference Finals last season. L.A. dropped to 6-6 on the year after a 125-110 loss to the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night, but LeBron James continued to make NBA history regardless.

After putting up 28 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists, James recorded his 108th career triple-double, passing Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd for fifth-place on the league's all-time triple-doubles list. After the game, ESPN's Dave McMenamin asked James about his accomplishment, and James revealed two things he's been able to take from Kidd's game, as well as one thing he'll never be able to take.

"Make your teammates better, no matter what," James said. "Can never do it individually, can never do it by yourself. Also, communication. I think those are two things I took from [Kidd] that I've been able to apply. The third thing I haven't been able to apply and will never be able to apply, and that's patience. That's just not in my nature. He does a great job of it, though. So I got two out of three."

Jason Kidd, LeBron James, Mavs Lakers — Jason Kidd and LeBron James embrace / Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

James and Kidd have a unique relationship, as they fought against each other in the 2011 NBA Finals as players, but then also bonded during their time with Team USA, and most recently, Kidd's stint as a Lakers assistant coach from 2019-2021, including a 2020 championship. The two remain close, which, along with James' favorite players Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving being in Dallas, has fueled speculation that James might consider joining the Mavs before he retires.

At 38 years old, James is still producing at a superstar level, and now, he can add "Top 5 in Triple-Doubles" to his lengthy Hall-of-Fame resume too. And Kidd might have been passed up on the list, but will still always be able to say he's 1-0 against James in the Finals.

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Published Nov 16, 2023

DALTON TRIGG

Dalton Trigg is the Editor-In-Chief for Dallas Basketball, as well as the Executive Editor overseeing Inside The Rockets, Inside The Spurs, All Knicks, and The Magic Insider. He is the founder and host for the Mavs Step Back Podcast, which is a proud part of the Blue Wire podcast network. Trigg graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi’s College of Business and Economic Development with a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship in 2016. After spending a few years with multiple Dallas Mavericks-related blogs, including SB Nation’s Mavs Moneyball, Trigg joined DallasBasketball.com as a staff writer in 2018 and never looked back. At the start of 2022, he was promoted to the EIC title he holds now. Through the years, Trigg has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, Mavs GM Nico Harrison, now-retired legend Dirk Nowitzki and many other current/former players and team staffers. Many of those interviews and other articles by Trigg have been aggregated by other well-known sports media websites, such as Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and others. You can find Trigg on all major social media channels, but his most prevalent platform is on Twitter. Whether it’s posting links to his DBcom work, live-tweeting Mavs games or merely giving his opinions on things going on with Dallas and the rest of the NBA, the daily content never stops rolling. For any inquiries, please email Dalton@MavsStepBack.com.