LeBron James Expected to Miss Significant Time Due to Foot Injury

LeBron James is expected to miss an “extended” period of time with a right foot injury. The Los Angeles Lakers superstar suffered the injury during Sunday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks in which he played 37 minutes, staying on the floor even after claiming that he heard his foot “pop”.

Shams Charania of The Athletic broke the news:

Sources: There’s fear Lakers star LeBron James is likely to miss an extended period of time with his right foot injury. James suffered the injury in Sunday’s win over Dallas, played through it, and belief is he will be sidelined an indefinite amount.

James miraculously played through the injury that is now expected to require multiple opinions, sources said, and the Lakers are bracing for his absence to be multiple weeks.

The Lakers currently hold a 29-32 record, good for 12th in the NBA’s Western Conference. They sit in a group of ten teams between 29 and 32 losses, scattered between the 4th and 13th positions in the conference. The Lakers are hoping to make a push for the 2023 NBA Playoffs after a disappointing start to the season. They’d need to finish no lower than 10th to earn their way into the postseason Play-In Tournament, no lower than 6th to secure a playoffs seed outright.

The Portland Trail Blazers, at 29-31, are one spot ahead of the Lakers in the standings. The Blazers themselves are dealing with multiple injuries, though obviously it’s not possible for them to suffer one the magnitude of James.

James is averaging 29.5 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 6.9 assists in 36.1 minutes per game this season over 47 appearances. He is shooting 50.1% from the field, 30.8% from the three-point arc.

The Lakers have 31 games remaining on their schedule, which concludes on Sunday, April 9th, almost exactly six weeks from today.