As the Los Angeles Lakers regular season crawls toward its disappointing conclusion, the number of players dotting the injury list nearly matches that of those on the active roster. Lonzo Ball has been out since January with an ankle injury. Brandon Ingram is out for the season with something called venous thrombosis. Josh Hart is done for the year after undergoing a procedure on his right knee. And LeBron James’ season is finished because of, well, there’s simply no reason to play the 33-year-old with the Lakers eliminated from the playoff hunt.
The Lakers announced LeBron would sit out the rest of the regular season over the weekend as he continues to heal from a nagging groin injury that has bothered him for most of the season. But LeBron didn’t agree to that plan without a fight.
“He wants to play,” head coach Luke Walton told ESPN. “But it’s one of those things where the medical staff just finally said, ‘Look, it’s just not worth it anymore. Let’s make sure you have a healthy summer.’ So that’s the decision that was made, and we’ll move forward without him on the floor for the final six.”
LeBron’s career has largely been major-injury free, which is why it was a bit of a shock to watch him miss 17 games this season after initially straining his groin on Christmas Day. The Lakers were officially eliminated from the playoffs by former Laker D’Angelo Russell and the Brooklyn Nets on March 22. LeBron played three more games after that before he was officially shelved for the season.
“I think that goes back to him wanting to compete,” Walton said. “Even though it’s over, he wants to be out there playing with his guys. Eventually, as that time goes on and on, it’s easier to tell someone like that, ‘Let’s take care of your health right now.’ So that’s kind of how the decision came.”
LeBron hasn’t had a summer without any sort of basketball since he finished his second season in the NBA. It will be fascinating to see what kind of effect that sort of extended rest will have on him for the 2019-2020 season.
