Report: LeBron James’ ankle pain being caused by ‘wear and tear’

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, “wear and tear” is what is causing Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James to experience ankle pain.

“A source familiar with the injury told ESPN the ankle pain is simply being caused by ‘wear and tear’ for the 39-year-old James, who is in his 21st season,” McMenamin wrote.

But James doesn’t seem to be too concerned about his ankle injury.

James revealed that he’s been dealing with this injury for some time now.

Finally, the 39-year-old said that the discomfort in his ankle comes and goes and that his ankle didn’t bother him in Los Angeles’ win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on March 4.

James put up great numbers prior to leaving Wednesday’s contest against the Sacramento Kings. He totaled 31 points, five rebounds, 13 assists and one steal while shooting 10-of-16 from the field and 1-of-4 from 3-point range.

The forward’s scoring performance marked the first time since the start of the month of March that he has scored 30-plus points in a single game. He dropped 26 points against the Denver Nuggets — who eliminated James and the Lakers in the 2023 Western Conference Finals — on March 2 and 19 two days later versus the Thunder.

But James and the Lakers have now lost two of their last three games after coming up short against the Kings. Los Angeles also lost to the Nuggets by 10 points during that span.

Los Angeles currently owns the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference with a 34-30 record. However, the Lakers are within reach of a top-eight seed in the conference, as they are just one game behind the Dallas Mavericks — who are on a three-game losing streak and sit as the No. 8 seed — in the standings.

Unfortunately for the Lakers, the next two games on their regular-season schedule will be against two of the best teams in the NBA right now. First, Los Angeles will take on the Milwaukee Bucks — who are winners of six of their past seven games — at home on Friday. Then, the Lakers will host the Minnesota Timberwolves — who are the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference at the moment — on March 10.