39-year-old 20-time LeBron James, a former All-Star for the Los Angeles Lakers, has been an incredible player for the 36-30 Purple and Gold this season.
In a game, the 6’9″ combo forward averages 25.3 points on a shooting split of.530/.407/.742, eight assists, 7.1 rebounds, and 1.2 steals.
Unfortunately, the formerly more resilient four-time MVP has paid a price for that level of productivity.
James has been battling with a sore left ankle since the All-Star break, which is thought to be a “wear-and-tear” ailment, and he will have to play through it for the remainder of the season, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, who received this information from a source. Due to his ankle and other minor illnesses, he has missed nine games in total. James most recently missed Friday’s unexpected 123-122 victory of LA over the Milwaukee Bucks at Crypto.com Arena. He did participate in the team’s victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are currently ranked first in the whole Western Conference, yesterday.
James pulled down eight rebounds, gave out nine assists, and scored 29 points on 10-of-16 field goal tries, including 2-of-4 from three-point range. Really, not too bad for a player playing through a bothersome injury. At least he’ll be able to take a few days off to rest his tired bones. The Lakers’ next game is not until Wednesday, when they will have a chance to exact revenge for their 130-120 loss to the Sacramento Kings the previous week.