Lakers: LeBron James Tallies His 100th Career Triple-Double In Loss To Grizzlies

Have to commemorate the good even on a bad night, right?

The Lakers would probably love an opportunity to take the neuralizer from "Men In Black" and zap the memories and pain from Thursday night's loss to the Memphis Grizzlies right out of their consciousness. There was not much good to celebrate for LA Thursday night.

At the very least, LeBron James' was able to add another accomplishment to his hall of fame career in Memphis. Playing 37 minutes, (a problem for another piece) James tallied 20 points, 11 assists, and 10 rebounds. He also added four steals and two blocks. This gave James his 100th career triple-double. James is now in fifth place all-time for triple-doubles. The current leader is James' teammate Russell Westbrook with 189. Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson, and Jason Kidd round out the other four.

As the NBA style of game has shifted where the positions are muddled a bit more, triple-doubles have become more common. Point guards pick up more rebounds, and big men pick up a lot more assists. Nine of the top 20 players on the list of most triple-doubles are active players. This is just a part of the game as it grows and changes just like any other sport. James was one of the first players around the turn of the century who played this way, along with Jason Kidd before him. 

For context, Laker fans should see this and have yet even more appreciation for Magic Johnson, the first true 'point forward' in many respects. Johnson is commonly referred to as the greatest point guard of all time, but at 6'9, Johnson could have (and did) easily play the 4-spot for his career.

It is easy to shrug off this accomplishment for James on a night where the overall Laker effort was abysmal, to say the least. Still, Laker fans should appreciate James' greatness for as long as he is around.