Lakers' LeBron James breaks his own longstanding record

Wednesday's performance marked James' fourth triple-double of the season through 11 games, bringing his career tally to 116. It was also his 40th 30-point triple-double. Only Oscar Robertson (106), Russell Westbrook (48) and Luka Doncic (46) have more such stat lines in history. 

Reinventing His Game At 39

The intriguing aspect about James this season is he's putting up these numbers while clocking the lowest usage percentage (26.4) of his 22-year career. "The King" is also attempting his fewest shots (16.8) and receiving his second-fewest touches per game (82.9) — largely due to JJ Redick's system that highlights Anthony Davis as the go-to option. 

To put things in perspective, his 82.9 touches per game are nearly 33 fewer than league leader Nikola Jokic and 15 fewer than Trae Young. 

James has increasingly begun to score within the flow of the offense rather than hogging the ball or even initiating plays. After his masterpiece on Wednesday, he called "patience" his new superpower.

"Just being very patient and taking what the defense gives me," James said, via ESPN's Dave McMenamin. "I've been doing it for a while. So, I understand time and score. I understand the waves and the swings of the game. So, it's nothing new to me."

Another drastic improvement in the Ohio native's game is his three-point shooting. The Lakers forward is shooting an astonishing .459 from three this season, which ranks 15th among players with at least 40 attempts. 

James, who turns 40 on Dec. 30, is still a top-10 player in the league, something that none of the past greats can stake claim to. Most of all, his performances are leading to victories — the Lakers are off to a 7-4 start and have yet to be bested at home.