LeBron James off for three weeks due to foot tendon injury

James posterizing former Cleveland teammate Kevin Love in a game against the Cavaliers on March 21, 2022 – CC BY-SA

On Thursday, the Los Angeles Lakers confirmed that star player LeBron James would be out for at least three weeks due to a tendon injury in his right foot, sustained in Sunday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks.

In the third quarter of Sunday’s game, the 38-year-old injured his ankle while attempting to get past Mavericks center Dwight Powell.

James led the Lakers in overcoming a 27-point deficit to earn their biggest comeback win in 21 years, scoring 26 points on Sunday, 11 of which came in the fourth quarter. He also grabbed eight rebounds and dished out three assists. While LeBron could finish the game, the injury had a noticeable effect on his movement.

Then, when James was out on Tuesday, the Lakers lost 121-109 to the Memphis Grizzlies. The team allowed 47 points in the third quarter and 86 points in the paint. The Lakers later improved to 30-33 and 11th in the Western Conference with Wednesday’s 123-117 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

This season, the four times NBA champion has missed 16 games for the Lakers, including the last two. He averages 29.5 points, 8.4 rebounds and 6.9 assists per game, shooting 50.1 percent from the field and 30.8 percent from beyond the arc.

Eight-time NBA All-Star Anthony Davis and guard D’Angelo Russell will have to carry the load for the Lakers until James is healthy enough to return to action.

While both Davis and Russell were out for Wednesday’s victory over the No. 13 seed Oklahoma City, the former is expected to return for Friday’s matchup against the No. 8 seed Minnesota Timberwolves after missing 20 games this season because of a bone spur fracture and a stress response in the same foot.

On Wednesday, Lakers head coach Darvin Ham Sr. told reporters that Davis’precautionary benching was because he needed more testing before returning to the court.

Meanwhile, Russell is still recovering from an ankle sprain he suffered on February 23 against the Golden State Warriors. The 27-year-old was injured in the first quarter after colliding with Donte DiVincenzo’s foot in an attempt to recover a loose ball. On Wednesday, the former Timberwolves guard informed ESPN that he could not face his former team on Friday.