Videos

Former teammate says it looks like LeBron James strategically lost 10, 12 pounds since foot injury

Published by
Peter Dewey

ESPN analyst Richard Jefferson, a former teammate of Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James, says that it looks like James lost 10 to 12 pounds since suffering a foot injury that kept him out of the lineup for most of March.

“Well one of the things I’ve noticed is that he looks like he lost about 10, 12 pounds from the time that he got hurt to now,” Jefferson said. “It looks like he’s trying to take weight off of that foot, make him a little bit lighter, make him a little bit quicker.”

James, who injured the foot on Feb. 26 against the Dallas Mavericks, has played four games for the Lakers since returning on March 26.

Los Angeles has promptly jumped to the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference, moving to two games over .500 on the season after defeating the Houston Rockets on Sunday night.

Jefferson played with James during the superstar’s second stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers, winning an NBA title with him in the 2015-16 season. James was at his peak during those seasons, as it was a part of an eight-year run where he made the NBA Finals in each season.

Jefferson makes some good points about James wanting to keep weight off his foot so he can stay healthy for the rest of the Lakers’ run this season.

Los Angeles is certainly a contender in the Western Conference, and the team is just half a game behind the No. 5-seeded Los Angeles Clippers.

To make things even better for the Lakers, they have a chance to beat the Clippers coming up on Wednesday this week.

This season, James has been terrific when he’s been healthy. The NBA’s all-time scoring leader is averaging 28.8 points, 8.5 rebounds and 6.9 assists per game while shooting 49.9 percent from the field and 30.3 percent from beyond the arc.

He has been slowed a bit since returning from the foot injury, scoring fewer than 20 points in three of his last four games. However, Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves and others have stepped up in the scoring department to lead the Lakers to wins.

Whether James really lost weight or not, the Lakers are glad to have him back for the stretch run. After missing the postseason in the 2021-22 campaign, the Lakers could shock a lot of people and make a deep playoff run with Davis and James both in the lineup.

Peter Dewey

Peter is a graduate of Quinnipiac University where he covered the MAAC and college basketball for three years. He has worked for NBC Sports, the Connecticut Sun and the Meriden Record-Journal covering basketball and other major sports. Follow him on Twitter @peterdewey2.

Published by
Peter Dewey

Recent Posts

Lakers list 10 players on injury report ahead of Monday’s matchup vs. Pistons

The Los Angeles Lakers have listed 10 different players on their injury report ahead of…

November 4, 2024

Report: NBA reopening investigation into Jaxson Hayes after disturbing footage surfaces

The NBA is reportedly reopening its investigation into a 2021 incident involving Los Angeles Lakers…

November 3, 2024

Report: Jalen Hood-Schifino has drawn interest from Utah Jazz

The Los Angeles Lakers used a first-round pick on Jalen Hood-Schifino back in the 2023…

November 2, 2024

Report: Lakers could run into trouble with pursuit of Walker Kessler

The Athletic's Jovan Buha became the latest person to connect the Los Angeles Lakers to…

November 1, 2024

Ex-NBA player ‘honored’ that LeBron James has him blocked on X

Former NBA player turned political candidate Royce White made a post on X on Thursday…

November 1, 2024

LeBron doesn’t rule out playing with his 2nd son Bryce in the NBA

Ahead of Wednesday night's bout between the Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers, a former…

October 31, 2024