LeBron James is 34 and just started his 17th season in the league, but the living legend doesn’t want to hear any talk about him being washed. After putting up 30 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists in the Lakers‘ 19-point comeback win over the Bulls, he took to Twitter to poke fun at his haters. 

His message was simple. Quote-tweeting a note from the official Lakers account celebrating his third straight triple-double, he wrote “#WashedKing” next to two emojis, one of which was doing the “shh” sign, while the other was a crown. It’s not entirely clear who was calling him washed, but there certainly have been discussions about whether he’s too far past his prime to carry this Lakers team to a title, even with Anthony Davis in town. 

So far this season, he has made it clear he’s not. 

After losing on opening night to the Clippers, he has helped the Lakers rattle off six straight wins to claim the best record in the league. Everyone on the team has been raving about the tone he has set on the defensive end, and he’s averaging 26.1 points, 8.3 rebounds and 11.1 assists — the latter leads the league and would be a career-high. 

During their three-game road trip, which ended Tuesday night in Chicago, James was spectacular. He recorded a triple-double in every single game, and in doing so made all sorts of history. 

Oldest player in NBA history to record three straight triple-doubles? Check.

First Laker to record three straight triple-doubles since Magic Johnson 32 years ago? Check.

Historic numbers that have only been matched by Russell Westbrook? Check.

During the three games, LeBron averaged 30 points, 11 rebounds, and 13.3 assists. He has been scoring when he needs to, but doing more than enough to keep everyone else involved, especially Davis. 

Coming into the season, there were legitimate questions about where LeBron James ranked in the league’s pecking order, and how far this Lakers team could go with so little depth surrounding their two stars. So far, the “Washed King” has given clear answers.

When he’s playing at this level he is still the best player in the world, and the Lakers are a legitimate title contender. Now, the challenge becomes keeping it up until June. That’s a long time from now, but if these first few weeks of the season are any indication, it may be unwise to doubt LeBron.