A number of key players on the Los Angeles Lakers suffered significant injuries, and the most prominent of them was LeBron James.
The capper seemed to be the ankle sprain he sustained towards the end of the schedule, and James admitted that he made it worse by returning earlier than he perhaps should’ve.
“I got the MRI on my ankle on Friday, and there’s no surgery required…but I have to stay off of it for probably about four to six weeks to let it recover,” said James. “If we were the team that I hoped and wished we were, I shouldn’t have played in that New Orleans game after the injury. I kind of made it worse, but I wanted to see if we could make a late push, but it was literally less than one week after the injury in New Orleans.”
It was a rough season for James physically. He had an ab injury early in the year that forced him to miss several weeks, then a left knee ailment that rendered him in and out of the lineup at times during the second half of the schedule.
The Lakers, who were expected to contend for the NBA championship by most people, ended up playing very poor basketball after the All-Star break and missed the play-in tournament.
Still, the four-time MVP had an incredible season individually.
He finished it averaging 30.3 points per game, barely missing out on the scoring title, as well as 8.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game, all at age 37 and with tons of mileage.
James will be entering the final year of the Lakers contract next season, and there has been speculation that it may be his last season in the Purple and Gold.
He will be eligible to sign an extension with the team later in the summer.
With what he did individually this season, one has to think that, if he’s healthy, he should have at least one more elite level of play in him for the 2022-23 campaign.
The Lakers will need him to if they are to return to title contention.
