According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James will miss the remainder of the season with a left ankle sprain.
Lakers say LeBron James will miss the remainder of the season for continued healing of his ankle sprain and expected full recovery.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 8, 2022
After the Lakers were officially eliminated from the NBA’s play-in tournament on Tuesday, this was the expected outcome.
His team’s struggles notwithstanding, LeBron showed he still has plenty of gas left in the tank, posting per-game averages of 30.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 6.2 assists. However, despite his impressive individual numbers, James is sure to face heavy criticism as the de-facto general manager of a Lakers team that is nearly 20 games below .500.
Reports surfaced this week that the 38-year-old nixed deals that would have brought DeMar DeRozan and Buddy Hield to Los Angeles, instead opting for the club to acquire long-time friend Russell Westbrook.
The results were not what Lakers fans envisioned, with the club missing the playoffs despite being odds-on title favorites before the regular season.
Los Angeles will host its final home game of the season against the Oklahoma City Thunder tonight.
FanDuel Sportsbook has the Lakers as -4.5 favorites on the spread and -188 on the moneyline.