The Los Angeles Lakers will be without the services of LeBron James for the foreseeable future. According to multiple media reports, the injury that James suffered on Saturday afternoon against the Atlanta Hawks has been ruled a high ankle sprain, and there is no timetable for him to return to action.
LeBron James has been diagnosed with a high right ankle sprain, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 20, 2021
High-ankle sprain for LeBron James, out indefinitely, source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 20, 2021
LeBron James will be out indefinitely with a high right ankle sprain, source tells Yahoo Sports.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) March 20, 2021
James suffered the injury on Saturday afternoon against the Atlanta Hawks. Solomon Hill dove for a loose ball and ended up rolling on James’ right ankle early on in the second quarter, which sent the reigning NBA Finals MVP down to the ground in serious pain. James attempted to stay in the game, but after making a three determined that he was unable to compete.
An x-ray on James’ ankle reportedly came back negative, which certainly is a relief for the Lakers, but losing him for an indefinite period of time can only be described as a disaster for a team that is already without Anthony Davis, who is likewise out for an indefinite period due to achilles tendonosis.
Currently, the Lakers sit 28-14 on the year, putting them in third place in the Western Conference despite being the same number of games back of the 1-seed as the Phoenix Suns. In the ultra-tight West, though, they are only four games ahead of the 7-seed San Antonio Spurs, which would put them in the play-in tournament if they fell that far.
