LeBron James did his best to carry the Los Angeles Lakers to the postseason, but an ankle injury left him limited down the stretch.
After the Lakers were eliminated from playoff contention, the team announced James would miss the remainder of the year. It was a disappointing end for James who has now missed the playoffs twice as a member of the Purple and Gold.
The offseason will provide James ample time to get healthy and the star said he expects to make a full recovery. “I got the MRI on my ankle, like you said, on Friday and there is no surgery required, no injections, but I have to stay off it for probably about 4-6 weeks to let it recover,” James said.
“It’s funny, if we were the team that I hoped and wished we were, I shouldn’t have played in that New Orleans game after the injury. I kind of made it worse but I wanted to see if we could make a late push. But it literally was like less than one week after the injury in New Orleans so I kind of made it worse. But I’ll make a full recovery and I got some more doctor appointments lined up in the next couple weeks to take a look at my knee, take a look at my groin and go from here. Hopefully no surgeries or things of that nature required and I’ll make a full recovery.”
The only thing that matters for the Lakers is James being healthy for the 2022-23 season. Injuries have derailed the team in recent years, so having the star back at 100 percent would go a long way in righting the ship.
LeBron James on injuries the past few seasons
As James has gotten older, he has suffered more injuries that have caused him to miss extended stretches. However, the 37-year-old chalked it up to being part of the game.
“I think in the sense of it’s been just some freak accidents. Obviously my first year, playing Golden State on Christmas Day and going down on the break, hitting a little wet spot and boom, groin pops and pretty much out for the rest of the season. I came back a little bit but I was never the same. The second year, obviously that was the championship run and things of that nature. Last year, I was probably the MVP of the season until I got my whole foot and leg rolled up on, high ankle sprain. I came back for the Play-In Game but I was not the same after that, it just was done with. Anyone who’s felt an ankle sprain or anything of that nature, high, low, whatever the case may be, knows I was never the same. And then this year, dealing with the knee in January but was able to come back from that, and dealing with the abdomen, the reoccurring of the abdomen that kept me out. We were able to get a good grasp on it and then later in the season, obviously everyone’s seen the play that happened in New Orleans, my foot not touching the ground before Jaxson Hayes’ foot hit the ground and bang.
“So injuries are definitely a part of the game and you try to put yourself in a position where you can be injury-free throughout the season. That’s why I don’t like taking off games. For me to sit down and take of games or things of that nature, you never know when the game will be taken away from you, so that’s why I like to play in every game when I’m healthy. So hopefully I’ll be in more than 56 games next year.”
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