LeBron James is making progress with the knee injury he suffered in the Lakers‘ final playoff game.
James stated that his left MCL sprain is “getting better” in a recent edition of his “Mind the Game” podcast with Steve Nash (hat tip to Corey Hansford of Lakers Nation). He adds that the most difficult part of the process is having to remain relatively inactive while the knee heals.
“That’s the most challenging thing,” James said. “Even though I can’t do much as far as like lower body stuff, I’m still like in the weight room, still getting in upper body. The one thing I am able to do a little bit is ride like a stationary bike just to kind of keep the blood flowing and things of that nature, keep the flexibility as much as possible in the knee. But I’m not a guy that likes to sit around. I have a lot of energy and I hate sitting around, so this has definitely been, almost two weeks after the season, they always tell you to take time off and I’m just not that guy. I’m going crazy right now, for sure.”
James remained in the news this week by earning second-team All-NBA honors. He turned in an unprecedented campaign for a 40-year-old — averaging 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 8.2 assists in 70 games — and received All-NBA recognition for the 21st straight year.
“ALL NBA at 40!! Low key crazy to me right now! Sitting here watching the playoffs just thinking about it,” James tweeted. “Blessed beyond I can even imagine.”
James has a $52.6MM player option for next season, but in the aftermath of the Lakers’ playoff loss, he expressed uncertainty about whether he plans to continue playing, and it appears that stance hasn’t changed. His agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, wasn’t able to offer any insight into James’ plans during a recent appearance on The Rich Eisen Show, per Kurt Helin of NBC Sports.
Helin states that the expectation around the league is that James will be back for at least another year, as he was energized by the chance to play alongside his son, Bronny, and to team up with Luka Doncic. Whatever James’ decision turns out to be, Paul indicated that he won’t rush into it.
“I have no idea, zero. Normally our process is, kind of weigh everything and see how he’s feeling and all those type of things,” he said. “… Same process it’s been for the last I don’t know how many years. … He’ll come around to what he’s thinking at some point and we’ll kind of go over some things and go from there.”
Steph played through this in the 2016 finals, next
Funny he couldn’t play through a grade one hammy this year. Arron Gordon played through a grade two.
Yet Aaron Gordon did nothing impactful that game and his team had no chance at winning, should have sat out lmao
Is that the excuse for the worst finals loss of all time?
Never, just a fact that he played through an injury and Iguodala and Bogut got hurt. Nothing wrong with the truth right?
Curry is 3 years younger, though..
I have a feeling it will act up again next season in the playoffs.
Assuming they even make it.
Let’s go ahead and conclude the list of my TOP 10 FAVORITE LeBRON PLAYOFF EXITS before Game 3 of OKC-MIN tips off. If you’ve been keeping up with this segment, for each of the first SEVEN inclusion I discussed my thoughts/perspectives/memories/criticisms (plenty) pertaining to LeBron James’ involvement in the series. So as to not let this drag on into the summer, I have decided to merely list the final three nominees all at once, and will provide a brief subtitle/summary for all 10.
To make a long comment shorter, my disenchantment for LeBron (aka “Brawny Sensation”) was mostly non-existent (lukewarm perhaps?) up until the 2016 NBA Finals. Therefore, you will notice a trend of more recent LeBron-Cavs/LeBron Lakers playoff exits occupying a good majority of the top spots.
My TOP 10 FAVORITE LeBRON PLAYOFF EXITS
#10 – 2015 Finals, 2-4 vs Warriors
———The “We get why you lost, LeBron, but what happened to your FG% along the way??” series (this one will assuredly slide down a spot or two, depending on how much longer LeBron decides to play
#9 – 2010 WCSF, 2-4 vs Celtics
———The “Losing to Celtics again was the perfect impetus to jump ship” series
#8 – 2018 Finals, 0-4 vs Warriors
———The “Probably more drama OFF the court than ON” series
#7 – 2024 WCFR, 1-4 vs Nuggets
———The “Really starting to feel like JOKIC is your daddy” series
#6 – 2021 WCFR, 2-4 vs Suns
———The “Why even try without my so-called sidekick?” series (we all know LeBron became the sidekick once AD was acquired from New Orleans – and sidekicks CAN still win Finals MVPs despite the team’s #1 playing better)
#5 – 2011 Finals, 2-4 vs Mavericks
———The “Among the greatest upsets/Cinderella stories (whichever you wanna call it)” series………when I previously introduced this one, I emphasized the at-the-time sentiment that it was more about enjoying seeing Heat as a WHOLE losing, rather than simply just LeBron
#4 – 2014 Finals, 1-4 vs Spurs
———The “revenge series, version 1” (Timmy goes up, 2 to 1, on LeBron)
#3 – 2025 WCFR, 1-4 vs Wolves
———The “Lakers in 5” series
#2 – 2023 WCF, 0-4 vs Nuggets
———The “You flop, I flop” series
#1 – 2017 Finals, 1-4 vs Warriors
———The “Revenge series, version 2” for LeBron baiting Draymond MASTERLY and getting NBA League Office assistance to alter previous Finals (other possible series name: “Any super team you can build, Dubs can build better, LeBron)
Is he supposed to win a championship every year lmao. You can make these lists for anyone but Wilt who played against like 7 teams and plumbers
Bron should reject his salary. Become a FA. Sign with Cavs for vet minimum. Gives Lakers cap space to sign a FA. End it right Bron …. You ain’t getting a statue in LA or Miami.