Los Angeles Lakers

LeBron James draws critique even after historic triple-double performance

Updated Dec. 13, 2021 6:29 p.m. ET

LeBron James rang up a triple-double — 30 points, 10 assists and 11 rebounds — in the Los Angeles Lakers' 106-94 win over the Orlando Magic on Sunday, becoming the oldest player in NBA history to accomplish such a feat.

But even that didn't stop critics from questioning the King.

"He's still elite, an All-Star and all that, but not the best player in the league anymore," one Western Conference scout who watched James play this past week told Bleacher Report. "He's still dominant, but Father Time is showing. He still can't be stopped, but he can't do it for long periods of time anymore."

The 17-time All-Star was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs last season for the first time in his 18-year career. This season, he missed 12 of the Lakers' first 27 games due to injuries and COVID-19, and L.A. has struggled. The Lakers are just 15-13 as they have tried to adjust to life with Russell Westbrook and an influx of veteran free-agent signings.

Given all of this, is it fair to criticize James?

If you ask Shannon Sharpe, the answer is a hard no.

On Monday's "Undisputed," Sharpe explained why he believes these recent critiques aren't warranted.

"I guarantee you, everybody in the NBA that's currently playing would love to make it to Year 19 and ‘step off the cliff’ that LeBron James just stepped off of," she said. "He's still a top-five player at almost 37 years of age. No other player in NBA history can we say that about.

"Of course, three of his first five years he did average over 40 minutes a game, but nobody played 40 minutes a game in their 30s but LeBron James. And it just goes to show you how great he is," Sharpe added.

The Lakers are 5-7 without James and 10-6 with him. He is averaging 36.8 minutes per game — his most since 2017-2018 (36.9). He is also averaging the most 3-point shots per game (7.8) and the third-highest free throw percentage of his career at 76.7%.

On the other side, James is averaging the fewest 2-point field goals (11.9), the fewest free throw attempts (4.6) and the third-fewest rebounds (6.1) of his career. He is also producing the fewest assists per game (7.1) since the 2015-16 season and his lowest offensive rating (113) since 2014-15.

Meanwhile, his usage rate (29.7%) is his lowest since the 2004-05 season, his second in the league, and he currently boasts the fewest percentage of shot attempts at the rim in his career at just 29.1% — which would be the first time in his career under 30%.

When asked about how he keeps up with his team and continues to play at such an elite level this far into his illustrious career, James insists that he's getting better with time.

"I'm getting healthier and healthier and results in me being in the right place at the right time," he said. "As we continue to learn each other … we gotta log minutes on the floor, learn each other, and we get better and better with one another. And obviously, communication is the most important thing."

Sharpe rated James' triple-double on Sunday a 10 out of 10.

"He was great again last night, scoring the basketball, shooting 50%, getting his teammates involved with 10 assists, rebounding the basketball — 11 rebounds — and playing defense," Sharpe said. "LeBron James has only played 16 games, and in eight of those 16 games he's had at least 30 points or more.

"He's still LeBron James."

Shannon Sharpe: I give LeBron a 10 for his historic 30-point triple-double in win vs. Magic I UNDISPUTED

At 36 years and 346 days old, LeBron passed Kobe Bryant as the oldest player to ever drop a 30-point triple-double. Shannon Sharpe rate LeBron's performance on a 1-10 impressive scale.

On the other hand, Sharpe's co-host Skip Bayless wasn't as impressed by James' performance.

"Last night he played the ‘Orlando Tragic’, who are now 5-23, having lost 12 of their past 13 games, and they were playing back-to-back — 'cause they had to play the [LA] Clippers on Saturday night in the same building — while LeBron was ‘resting'. Actually, he just jetted off to Phoenix to watch Bronny play a basketball game," he said.

"My scale can only go up to an eight against the ‘Tragic’ … I won't give him a 10 because the scale doesn't go that high against Orlando because they're terrible."

Regardless of what side you're on, there's still a lot of basketball left for LeBron to make the case that he's still The King.