Lakers News

Darvin Ham releases positive update on LeBron James’ latest injury

Published by
Zach Stevens

After he broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time career scoring record on Tuesday, LeBron James will not play in Thursday’s contest between the Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks at Crypto.com Arena.

The culprit is a bout with left foot soreness that he has been dealing with for some time. But the good news, according to head coach Darvin Ham, is that nothing concerning came up when imaging was done.

Despite his left foot not being 100 percent for a good chunk of this season, James has been playing his usual outstanding basketball.

He’s averaging 30.2 points on 50.8 percent shooting, 8.5 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game this season, and once again, he will be one of the captains of the NBA All-Star Game, which will be played in Salt Lake City this year.

On Tuesday, versus the Oklahoma City Thunder, James was a bit shaky to start the contest, but he heated up in the second quarter, and by halftime, it looked inevitable he would shatter Abdul-Jabbar’s record on that night.

He did so near the end of the third quarter by hitting a fadeaway jumper that gave him 36 points on the night.

However, James petered out afterward, as he was nearly invisible in the fourth quarter, and the excitement at Crypto.com Arena quickly disappeared.

As a result of James’ fire going out, the Lakers lost to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and crew, 133-130.

Since then, they have made two major trades, sending out Russell Westbrook in a three-team deal for D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt on Wednesday, then trading guard Patrick Beverley for center Mo Bamba on Thursday.

All of a sudden, Los Angeles has addressed its lack of 3-point shooting while bringing in two big men who can defend in Vanderbilt and Bamba.

Perhaps these moves won’t make James feel like he has a real shot at his fifth NBA championship, but he will certainly have a lot more help now, not to mention teammates that fit much better around him.

Zach Stevens

Zach has always had a profound love and respect for the Lakers that has inspired him to write about the franchise. He has a great deal of admiration for LeBron James, and his overall knowledge about the NBA has made him a solid addition to the Lakers Daily staff.

Published by
Zach Stevens

Recent Posts

Bronny James: ‘People think…I’m a f—–g robot, like I don’t have any feelings or emotions’

Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James hasn't had an average rookie experience in his first…

March 20, 2025

LeBron James helped to prevent Markieff Morris from retiring following Luka Doncic trade

When the Los Angeles Lakers acquired star guard Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks last…

March 20, 2025

Next season, the Lakers will have a Big 3 — Here’s how it will happen

What does it mean to have a Big 3 in the NBA? You might get…

March 19, 2025

Luka Doncic gushes about Jaxson Hayes’ impact for Lakers: ‘For me, it helps a lot’

Los Angeles Lakers big man Jaxson Hayes sat out four games earlier in the month…

March 18, 2025

Report: There was ‘initial fear’ that LeBron could ask out after he was not consulted about Luka trade

The Los Angeles Lakers' recent four-game losing streak notwithstanding, the team's decision to part ways…

March 18, 2025

Lakers insider reveals LeBron James and Rui Hachimura could return ‘by the end of the week’

The Los Angeles Lakers have lost three of their last five games played, and forwards…

March 18, 2025