LeBron James appeared to suffer an injury on Saturday afternoon during the Los Angeles Lakers’ game against the Atlanta Hawks. Early on in the second quarter of play, James and Atlanta Hawks forward Solomon Hill went for a loose ball, and Hill accidentally rolled up on James’ right leg.
While James attempted to stay in the game, merely heading over to the sideline and relacing his shoes, he pulled himself out after hitting a triple — James stood in the corner on the play and did not try to test his leg. Understandably, James was visibly frustrated as he headed to Los Angeles’ locker room.
LeBron James sakatlandı. Durumu iyi gözükmüyor. pic.twitter.com/uOUTxo7n1B
— Clutch Time (@ClutchPage) March 20, 2021
Here's the video of LeBron rolling his ankle:pic.twitter.com/pXDV0YXobF
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 20, 2021
LeBron James appeared to tweak his right ankle, per @mcten.
He returned to the game briefly before heading to the locker room pic.twitter.com/GYaCkP52bb
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 20, 2021
The team eventually announced that James is our for the remainder of the game with a right ankle injury.
Lakers MVP candidate LeBron James has a right ankle injury and will not return to game.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 20, 2021
The Lakers are already without one of their two All-Star selections, as Anthony Davis has not played since mid-February due to achilles tendonosis. Being without Davis is already a gigantic burden for the Lakers, and not having James for any period of time would be a major lift. James has also been vocal about his desire to be named league MVP this season, and while he has been outstanding, being sidelined would potentially hurt his candidacy. On the year, Los Angeles is 28-13, two games back of the Utah Jazz for the one-seed in the Western Conference.
We’ll keep you updated as more information comes in about James’ status going forward and the extent of this injury.
