Lakers superstar LeBron James will miss the final two games of the regular season as he continues to rehab a nagging left ankle injury, the team announced Friday.
James, who has missed five of the last six games after suffering the injury against the Pelicans on Mar. 27, is expected to make a full recovery.
The news comes two days after the Lakers (31–49) were officially eliminated from postseason contention following a 121–110 loss to the first-place Suns. L.A. will finish the regular season at home against the Thunder on Friday before traveling to face the Nuggets on Sunday.
James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook and the Lakers were unable to live up to the hype this season after entering the 2021–22 campaign with lofty expectations. Their struggles eventually led to L.A. missing the postseason for the second time since James’s arrival in ’18.
Despite the team’s shortcomings, James managed to maintain his stellar level of play in his 19th NBA season. The 18-time All-Star concludes the year with averages of 30.3 points per game–his highest output since the 2007–08 season—8.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists in 37.2 minutes a night. He was also in the running for the scoring title, which currently belongs to MVP candidate Joel Embiid (30.4 PPG). James’s absences will ultimately cost him the crown as he was unable to keep pace with the 76ers star while also falling two games shy of the 58-game minimum needed to qualify for the honor.
The 37-year-old’s continued defiance of Father Time has positioned him for the opportunity to make even more history entering Year 20. James—the only member of the 30K-10K-10K club—is on track to pass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer after moving into second place earlier last month.
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