Report: LeBron James has not been healthy since returning from groin injury

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After missing several games thanks to a groin strain, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James made his return to the court against the Chicago Bulls on March 22. But he hasn’t looked like his usual dominant self from a scoring standpoint lately.

He’s scored 20-plus in just one of the last four games he’s played in, and that performance came when he dropped 24 points against the Orlando Magic on March 24. Plus, he’s scored a combined 30 points while shooting just 12-of-32 from the floor across his two most recent appearances.

Following James’ 17-point showing in Los Angeles’ embarrassing loss to the Bulls on Thursday, former NBA big man Kendrick Perkins reported that the league’s oldest active player still isn’t healthy at the moment.

“LeBron James is not healthy,” Perkins said. “LeBron James is not healthy. I think he’s probably about 70, 75 percent.”

The Bulls snatched a victory from the jaws of defeat on Thursday night. With under 13 seconds to play in the game, the Lakers were ahead by five points. But Chicago went on to win by one point after guard Josh Giddey hit a halfcourt buzzer-beater.

James suffered his groin injury in the Lakers’ loss to the Boston Celtics all the way back on March 8. Los Angeles saw its winning streak get snapped at eight games with the defeat, and the 40-year-old exited the game in the fourth quarter with the injury and did not return.

If James is indeed not at full strength, it is at an inopportune time for Los Angeles, as the team is vying for playoff positioning with the 2024-25 regular season nearing an end. The Lakers have just nine games left on their 82-game schedule and sit as the No. 4 seed in the West. The storied franchise is 1.5 games back of the No. 3 seed Denver Nuggets and 3.5 games behind the No. 2 seed Houston Rockets.

Lakers fans are hoping that James will find his footing from an offensive perspective when Los Angeles plays its next game on Saturday night against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum. The Grizzlies have won just five of their past 10 games played but share an identical record with the Lakers on the season at 44-29.