Los Angeles Lakers fans won’t be thrilled about forward LeBron James’ unfortunate comments regarding his ankle.
James continues to deal with an injured ankle, which sidelined him for the Lakers’ matchup against the Utah Jazz on Feb. 14, which was the team’s final game prior to the All-Star break.
LeBron arrives at All Star with an injured ankle, says “I won’t be playing the entire game tonight for sure.” He adds that he’s been “seeking treatment” the past few days and will again over the remaining days of the break.
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) February 18, 2024
Sans arguably their most talented player in the lineup, the Lakers still picked up a 16-point road win thanks to huge scoring performances from Rui Hachimura and Anthony Davis. The former lit up the Jazz for 36 points on 13-of-19 shooting from the field and 6-of-8 from 3-point range, while the latter totaled 37 points and also put up 15 rebounds and two blocks.
The day before the Lakers took on the Jazz, James thrived as both a scorer and playmaker in Los Angeles’ 14-point home victory over the Detroit Pistons. He led the team in both points and assists, as he ended up with 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field to go along with eight assists.
While James was unable to suit up in the Lakers’ game against Utah, the 39-year-old has shown impressive durability in his 21st season in the NBA. He has appeared in all but seven of the team’s games so far in the 2023-24 regular season. Plus, he is averaging the second-most minutes per game on the team with 34.9, which is behind only Anthony Davis who is averaging 35.7.
On the season, the oldest player in the NBA is averaging 24.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 7.8 assists per game.
James and the Lakers headed into the All-Star break playing solid basketball, considering the team has won three games in a row and seven of its past 10. But Los Angeles is still two games back of a top-eight seed in the Western Conference, as the Sacramento Kings sit as the No. 8 seed with a 31-23 record.
Lakers fans are surely hoping that James will be feeling up to playing in the team’s next game against the Golden State Warriors on the road on Feb. 22.
