The Los Angeles Lakers announced that star LeBron James has been ruled out of the remainder of Saturday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks due to an ankle injury.
James went down with the injury early in the second quarter after rolling the ankle of Solomon Hill, who was trying to steal the ball from him.
While James was originally able to stay in the game and proceeded to knock down a corner three, he then was forced to come out and immediately went back to the locker room to get looked at.
The injury certainly didn’t look good at first, and here is video, courtesy of Spectrum SportsNet:
LeBron James tweaked his right ankle then returned to the game briefly before heading to the locker room.
Hoping for the best for LeBron. ???? pic.twitter.com/ySToneJwhC— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) March 20, 2021
In 11 minutes, James finished with 10 points, one rebound and four assists. The three he made put him in double digits, so he at least was able to keep his NBA-record streak alive.
It remains to be seen what the actual diagnosis of the injury is and how long James will be out, although there is no doubt L.A. will be cautious with their star to ensure he gets 100 percent healthy before the playoffs.
The Lakers have another game against the Phoenix Suns on Sunday night. If James is forced to miss the second game of the back-to-back it would mark just the second game he has sat out all season.
With Anthony Davis also still out, the Lakers’ other players will have to step up if James misses time.
James not concerned about No. 1 seed
The Lakers went into the Hawks game winners of four straight, putting them back in the conversation for the No. 1 seed in th Western Conference.
Even before James got injured though, he said he was not concerned about being the top seed.
“We haven’t really talked about it. If it gets to a point where we can capture it, I mean why not, but we haven’t talked about it at all,” James said. “We just talk about playing championship basketball through wins, through losses, whatever the case may be.”
James also added that health is the most important thing for the Lakers, so hopefully the ankle injury is not serious and he can be back on the court soon.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events, participate in live shows, and more!
