LeBron James looked spry and energetic to begin Sunday’s 2023 NBA All-Star Game in Salt Lake City, Utah, but he suffered a hand injury and didn’t play in the second half.
James explained how he sustained the ailment shortly afterward. The good news is that James said the decision to not play in the second half was out of an abundance of caution.
Here’s the exact play where LeBron suffered an injury on his shooting hand pic.twitter.com/P3xUUOgiVq
— Lakers Daily (@LakersDailyCom) February 20, 2023
LeBron said he huirt his hand after promising Coach Michael Malone one defensive play tonight: "I tried to get one little chasedown block and got my finger caught in the rim." Says sitting out the rest of the game was largely precautionary.
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) February 20, 2023
He also offered some assurance to fans who may be worrying about his status moving forward.
"I'll be fine. I don't think it's too much to worry about."
LeBron on the hand injury he suffered during the All-Star Game. pic.twitter.com/gAaTN3DL2x
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) February 20, 2023
Coming into Sunday’s midseason classic, there was some speculation that he would play sparingly. However, he went hard as the game started, scoring 13 points on 6-of-11 shooting before he exited.
At one point, he provided a tantalizing highlight when he threw the ball against the backboard to himself to set up a big dunk.
LeBron goes off the backboard to himself 😮 pic.twitter.com/ddGqHEQK2I
— Lakers Daily (@LakersDailyCom) February 20, 2023
James came into Sunday undefeated as an All-Star game captain. But that streak ended as his team fell to Team Giannis, 184-175.
Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum took home the NBA All-Star Game Kobe Bryant Most Valuable Player Award after scoring 55 points, which is the most any player has put up in the game’s history. He shot 22-of-31 overall and went 10-of-18 from 3-point range.
Earlier this weekend, James told the media that he wants to play in all 23 of the Los Angeles Lakers’ remaining regular season games while calling them the “most important” ones of his career. Although they’re in 13th place in the Western Conference, they still remain within striking distance of a spot in the play-in tournament and possibly even a top-six seed.
With D’Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt, Malik Beasley and Mo Bamba on board, L.A.’s roster looks considerably better than it did less than two weeks ago. But it will take some time for this new-look unit to build even a rudimentary level of chemistry together.
James will need to relish being something of an underdog from here on out in order to get the Lakers back to the postseason.
