In a move that was bound to happen eventually, the Los Angeles Lakers ended LeBron James’ season on Saturday, the team announced.
The Lakers have been trending downwards for the last few weeks and recently were officially eliminated from playoff contention. That meant James sitting out some games pretty much was inevitable, especially given the star’s battle with a lingering groin injury, which the team made note of in their announcement, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
Lakers statement: “After consulting with our team doctors and medical staff, we have decided to hold LeBron out of games for the remainder of the season. This decision will allow his groin to fully heal, and is best for the future success of both LeBron and the Lakers.”
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) March 30, 2019
That groin injury came on Christmas Day, and forced LeBron to miss a month, which proved to be a major turning point in a once semi-promising season for the Lakers.
James has played in the NBA Finals each of the last eight seasons, and has not missed the playoffs since 2005, so this probably is not how he pictured his first season in LA turning out.