Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James is likely to be out for an extended period with a right foot injury, league sources confirmed to The Athletic on Monday. Here’s what you need to know:
James suffered the injury in Sunday’s win against the Dallas Mavericks.
James played it through and the injury is now expected to require multiple opinions, sources said. The Lakers expect an absence of several weeks.
James scored 26 points against the Mavericks. The Lakers sit at 29-32, currently 12th in the Western Conference.
The Athletic’s instant analysis:
What LeBron’s injury means for the Lakers’ playoff hopes
A multi-week absence from James could spell the end of the Lakers’ postseason aspirations. There’s only six weeks left in the regular season for starters. Several weeks can mean all or most of this time frame.
Anthony Davis has proven he can handle an MVP-caliber workload, and D’Angelo Russell can withstand a bigger offensive role given his track record in Brooklyn and Minnesota. But there’s no substitute for James’ All-NBA-level game this season.
He remains a top 10 player and a team just starting out on the road to success, winning four out of five games with their new group, cannot survive his absence. The Lakers are 5-9 (.357) without James this season and 36-62 (.367) without him during his tenure at Los Angeles.