Before JJ Redick became the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, he and LeBron James struck up a friendship by hosting a podcast together. The two weren’t always close during their acting careers, but they knew each other and eventually became podcast partners.

Redick, like nearly everyone in the NBA, was acutely aware of James’ greatness. He learned even more about it when the two started podcasting together last season, each sharing their tremendous basketball IQ and breaking down the game.

Once Redick became the team’s coach, he put James first and led him and the team through camp and the preseason.

But despite all the time he had spent with James before, Redick admired James as much as almost everyone else.

James was very excited when the Lakers beat the Sacramento Kings 131-127 on Saturday. The 39-year-old player made his first triple-double of the season with 32 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists.

James stepped up in the fourth quarter, making all six of his attempts from the field. He scored 16 points in the final quarter to help the Lakers come back to beat the Kings, their third straight win to start the year.

“What can you say about LeBron’s performance to start the fourth?” Lakers Redick said via Dan Woike: Los Angeles Times. “We’re all so lucky to have watched his greatness for so long, and it’s just crazy that he can continue to do this. Actually, this is crazy.”

James’ longevity remains unmatched. He is entering the 22nd season of his career and is still one of the best players in the league. He can still take over a game, or the fourth quarter of any game, and hasn’t seen a significant drop off in his play.

James is already the NBA’s all-time scoring leader and the first player to score at least 40,000 points in his career. He makes the NBA All-Star team literally every year, and throughout his entire career he has maintained greatness matched by few athletes in any sport.

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