SAN FRANCISCO – Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James sat out of Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game with ankle and foot discomfort but hopes he will be back when the Lakers return to the court on Wednesday at home against the Charlotte Hornets.
“You won't see anything from me tonight, unfortunately,” James said before the game. “I will not be in uniform tonight. Still dealing with ankle and foot discomfort, so I will not be playing tonight, unfortunately. I hate that, but I'm looking forward to seeing the format. I saw the quote the other day with DK [Dalton Knecht] say he was going to play against me. So, I guess I'll see him in practice and we can go at it then.”
James’ team was scheduled to face the “Rising Stars” team led by his Lakers teammate, Knecht, but James watched from the sidelines as his squad beat Knecht's team as the rookie scored 8 points in the loss.
While James did not play in the game, marking the first time he has not played in the NBA All-Star Game in 21 years, he did not anticipate missing any games because of the discomfort as the Lakers make a push towards the playoffs and being a Top 6 seed in the West (and avoiding the play-in tournament) for the first time since 2020 when the Lakers won the championship. The Lakers are currently 32-20 and just a half game back of being the No. 4 seed and having home court advantage in the first round.
“I was hoping that it would feel a lot better this morning, but it's not where I want it to be,” James said. “With 30 games left and us trying to make a playoff push in the wild, wild west, I feel like it's important for me to take care of myself and understand what's coming on. I don't want to say it's maintenance -- well, it is maintenance, but at the same time, it's like, I have to look out for myself when it comes to this injury that I've been dealing with for years.
“I hope to be available on Wednesday. We have to have a makeup game. So, I am headed back to L.A. tonight. There will be no vacation for me, so I head back to L.A. tonight and back to rehab tomorrow and getting ready for practice on Tuesday, and hopefully I can play against Charlotte on Wednesday and hopefully play against Portland on Thursday. It's a big stretch for us.”
James not only enters the final 30 games with the chance of securing home court advantage in the first round but he does so with new teammate Luka Doncic after the Lakers completed a blockbuster trade for the 25-year-old, five-time All-NBA First Team player before the break.
“Just the excitement of being able to add a caliber player like that, a generational talent like that to our franchise, it's something that's given me energy,” James said. “I'm looking forward to seeing what we can do. We only had two games so far, and I believe he's been on a minutes restriction since he came back from the calf. He hasn't played since Christmas, I believe. As he continues to get in form, I think we could be really good going down the stretch. But we'll see what happens.”
