Had the Los Angeles Lakers expanded their interval Wednesday night, the group will surely have proceeded its postseason run with out amongst its franchise enterprise players. Superstar LeBron James supposedly sustained a Grade 2 MCL sprain in his left knee all through the competitors, in response to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
The damage is anticipated to want roughly three-to-five weeks of therapeutic. Had the Lakers gotten to Game 6 versus the Minnesota Timberwolves, James supposedly would have been incapable to play, ending a doc contact by which the Lakers’ movie star performed in 292 straight championship recreation.
Had the Lakers expanded their assortment with the Wolves for Game 6 tonight in Minnesota, they will surely lack James and James’ doc contact of 292 straight championship recreation with out remaining will surely have been damaged
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) May 2, 2025
The damage accompanied a bit of over 8 minutes to play all through the Lakers’ 103-96 loss to the Timberwolves in Game 5. While attempting to return within the supreme protecting placement, James confronted Timberwolves guard Donte DiVincenzo and collapsed to the flooring.
James obtained objection for his response, as some followers charged the Lakers movie star of tumbling after going through DiVincenzo– that’s detailed as 5 inches a lot shorter and nearly 50 additional kilos lighter than James.
James immediately grasped his knee and required time previous to he was assisted off the flooring. He briefly left the competitors, nonetheless had the flexibility to return down the stretch.
The loss eliminated the Lakers from the postseason.
Following the competitors, James claimed he wasn’t ready to make a decision relating to his future. It’s imprecise if James acknowledged the diploma of his knee damage when he made these remarks.
James, 40, nonetheless dipped right into a excessive diploma all through the interval and may select proper into his player option for $52.2 million to stick with the Lakers following yr, though he has really pulled out of his bargains the earlier 3 durations to authorize one-plus-one expansions.
Friday’s reported damage most certainly doesn’t impact James’ methods. If the three-to-five week schedule is actual, James will definitely have ample time to resolve previous to the Lakers require him again at work.
If something, it’s but an extra suggestion that James’ job is enjoyable, and he’ll require to take these sorts of accidents proper into issue to contemplate prior to creating a call whether or not he needs to return for an extra interval.
