LeBron James makes first appearance this season for Los Angeles Lakers injury report.
LeBron is listed as probable for Monday’s game against the Warriors. The Orlando Magic will play against the Orlando Magic at Crypto.com Arena due to left ankle tendinitis.
LeBron played 39 minutes in the Lakers’ overtime loss to the Sacramento Kings on Sunday night. Later, Lakers head coach Davin Hamm said he was unsure whether LeBron and Anthony Davis would be able to play in the second round of back-to-back games for the first time this season. Neither LeBron nor the Lakers have publicly addressed the ankle issue.
AD played 42 minutes at Golden One Center and was not listed on the injury report, so he appears to be ready to go against Orlando. D’Angelo Russell and Taurean Prince also played 41 minutes in Sacramento and are not on the roster. Rui Hachimura (left eye contusion) and Cam Reddish (right foot soreness) are listed as possible players for the Magic game.
LeBron played 29 minutes in the opener against the Los Angeles Lakers. Denver Nuggets, Ham said that will be his daily workload. LeBron insisted he was not “upset” or “surprised” by the restriction because it was set in advance. Two days later, however, LeBron played all 35 minutes, including the entire fourth quarter, in the Lakers’ victory over the Phoenix Suns. He played 39 minutes — including the final 12 minutes and 27 seconds — against the Kings.
Hamm said Sunday that while he was worried about putting LeBron and AD “in a bind” early in the season, there was “absolutely no chance” LeBron would walk away from a close game.
“Before that, you just try to manage it better,” Hamm said of LeBron’s minutes leading up to the clutch moment. “try your best.”
LeBron averaged 23.0 points, 10.3 rebounds and 7.3 assists in three games. I missed 27 games in the 2022-23 season.
The Lakers (1-2) next play Wednesday against the Lakers. Los Angeles Clippers.