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

Redick was aware of James' greatness, as was virtually everyone in the NBA. He gained even greater knowledge of it when the two began doing podcasts together last season, each sharing their tremendous basketball IQs and breaking down the game.

Since then, Redick has gotten to know James personally as the team's coach and guided him and the team through camp and preseason.

But despite all his previous time with James, Redick is just as smitten with James as almost anyone else.

James was electric in the Lakers' 131-127 win over the Sacramento Kings on Saturday. The 39-year-old recorded his first triple-double of the season, scoring 32 points along with 14 rebounds and 10 assists.

James stepped up in the fourth quarter, hitting all six of his attempts from the field. He scored 16 points in the final quarter to help the Lakers defeat the Kings and secure their third straight victory to start the year.

“What can you say about LeBron's performance early in the fourth period?” Lakers Redick said, via Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times. “We've all been so fortunate to watch his greatness for so long, and the fact that he can continue to do it is just crazy. “It's crazy, actually.”

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 a game and has not experienced a significant dip in his play.

James is already the NBA's all-time leading scorer and the first player to score at least 40,000 points during his career. He is literally named to the NBA All-Star team every year and has maintained a stature throughout his career that few other athletes in any sport have achieved.

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