LeBron James backtracks on promise that he won’t ever miss playoffs again in his career

Peter Dewey
3 Min Read

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James apparently deleted an old tweet saying that he won’t miss the playoffs again in his NBA career.

James posted the original tweet in April of this year, but a fan took a screenshot of the post showing that it has been deleted.

It could be a mistake by James, or a calculated move, but either way the Lakers are on the outside looking in of the playoff picture in the 2022-23 season.

Los Angeles is currently the No. 13 seed, and it has lost four straight games heading into Tuesday’s matchup with the Orlando Magic. This is the first game of a back-to-back, as the Lakers will play the Miami Heat on Wednesday night.

James has been terrific for the Lakers this season, but a recent foot injury for Anthony Davis has put the team in a tough spot.

The Lakers are just 2-6 on the season without Davis, with their only wins coming against the Washington Wizards and San Antonio Spurs, two other teams that are currently outside of the playoff picture in their respective conferences.

Davis was in the midst of one of the best years of his career, and he will be sidelined for at least another week before the team re-evaluates his injury.

It will be up to James and Russell Westbrook to carry the Lakers until Davis returns, especially if the team doesn’t make a trade to improve the roster. James, a four-time champion, has been doing everything he can to get this team into playoff contention this season.

The 18-time All-Star is averaging 27.8 points, 8.1 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game while shooting 49.6 percent from the field and 30.6 percent from beyond the arc in the 2022-23 campaign.

Even though James deleted the tweet he sent in April, it shouldn’t be viewed as an issue for Lakers fans.

Players can delete old tweets whenever they choose, and it’s highly unlikely that James already views this as a lost season.

The Lakers are just 2.5 games out of the play-in tournament in the Western Conference, and James could certainly get the team into the postseason through that, similar to how he did in the 2020-21 season.

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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.