LeBron James To Undergo MRI On Injured Groin

LeBron James left the Lakers‘  127-101 Christmas Day win over the Warriors with an injured left groin in the third quarter and did not return. Cameras caught James telling Lakers trainers that he “felt a pop” in his groin region.

An initial exam on James revealed “all is intact” and that he suffered a “slight groin strain,” per Yahoo Sports’ Chris B. Haynes (Twitter link). James told reporters after the game he will undergo an MRI on Wednesday and did not rule out playing on Thursday against the Kings.

“I don’t know,” James said, per ESPN. “See what the MRI says and see how I feel for the rest of the day today. And I will be all around the clock tomorrow on rehabbing. And we will see how I feel on Thursday when we go to [Sacramento].”

The soon-to-be 34-year-old James exited Tuesday’s win with 17 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists in 21 minutes of action. In 34 games this season, James has averaged 27.3 PPG, 8.3 RPG and 7.1 APG for the Lakers.

If James were forced to miss any prolonged stretch, it would be a critical blow to Los Angeles, which sports a 20-14 record following their win over the defending NBA champions. James has been the model of health and consistency, appearing fewer than 69 or fewer games in just two of his 15 NBA seasons entering the 2018/19 campaign. One of those years was the lockout-shortened 2011/12 season.

“I take a lot of pride in [staying healthy], so that is why it pissed me off not being able to go back into the game,” James said. “It’s more than anything being available to my teammates, to my coaching staff; that is something I take more personal than anything. Hopefully, it is not a long thing and I can get back on the floor as soon as possible.”

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