Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James scared Lakers nation Sunday after suffering an apparent injury during a matchup against the Dallas Mavericks. James reached for his ankle after going down underneath the hoop during a drive in the second half. Cameras caught James telling teammates he “heard a pop” in the right ankle.
“I heard it pop”
– LeBron pic.twitter.com/bP9aLeRFvv
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) February 26, 2023
LeBron James Injury News: James Appears to Suffer Ankle Injury
LeBron James is currently staying in the tightly-contested battle against the Mavericks through the remainder of the fourth quarter. However, he is clearly suffering from an ankle injury, and will likely be re-evaluated after the game.
James’ Lakers were active at the Trade Deadline, with LeBron admitting during the All-Star Break that the playoff pursuit would set up some of the most important games of his career.
“It’s 23 of the most important games of my career, for the regular season,” James said of the Lakers’ remaining schedule, per CBS Sports. “That’s the type of mindset that I have and I hope the guys will have coming off the break… I’m going to figure out ways to make sure I’m available and on the floor for every single one of these 23 games.”
The Lakers (27-32) are currently stuck in 13th place in the Western Conference. However, they are only two games behind the 10th-place Oklahoma City Thunder and are likely going to be gunning for a spot in the play-in tournament for the remainder of the season. DraftKings Sportsbook currently raised the Lakers championship odds (+2800) after they got rid of guard Russell Westbrook and acquired D’Angelo Russell at the deadline.
Unfortunately for the Lakers, they can not afford a LeBron James injury at this point of the season. He may be asked to gut through the ankle issue as long as an MRI doesn’t reveal any structural damage.
We’ll await any more news from the team following the game on Sunday.
