LeBron James reveals how he’s coping with absence due to ‘personal reasons’
Update — 12/16/24, 12:01pm ET: LeBron James returned to the pitch on Sunday, December 15, and explained how he spent the hiatus in team activities.
The 39-year-old Los Angeles Lakers star missed the team’s previous two games with a foot injury. On Wednesday, December 11, Lakers head coach JJ Redick It said James took a leave of absence for “personal reasons.”
“A lot of rehab and a lot of training is still about making sure I’m ready to play tonight,” James told reporters after Sunday’s 116-100 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. “I don’t want my figure to go too far.”
James added: “I had the opportunity to take a little more time to get my mind, body and everything where I wanted it to be tonight. And it worked out.
The future Hall of Famer had 18 points, eight assists and eight rebounds in 34 minutes of action.
The original story is as follows:
LeBron James He will miss his second straight game after missing the team earlier in the week due to “personal reasons.”
The 39-year-old Los Angeles Lakers star missed Sunday, Dec. 8 against the Portland Trail Blazers with a left foot injury, marking the first game James has missed this season.
Lakers head coach at team practice on Wednesday, December 11 JJ Redick Explaining James’ apparent absence.
“LeBron is not on the team right now,” Redick, 40, told reporters. “He is absent due to personal reasons and is absent on leave.”
Shaquille O’Neal’s son Sharif, Serena Williams’ daughter Olympia and many more children have proven to be just as athletically gifted as their parents. The son of a retired professional basketball player transferred to LSU in 2020 from UCLA. […]
Redick said James is taking “a while” away from the team as the four-time MVP tries to regain his health for the remainder of his 22nd NBA season.
On Thursday, December 12, the Lakers announced that James will not participate in the team’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday, December 13.
Sources told ESPN that James did not accompany the Lakers to Minnesota.
The Lakers are scheduled to return to the court on Sunday, December 15, hosting the Memphis Grizzlies. James’ status for that game has not yet been announced.
First-year Lakers coach Redick told reporters on Wednesday that James has indeed been tired recently. He last played on Friday, December 6, in the Lakers’ overtime loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
“There were a couple of times during the game where he was asked to come off the bench because he was out of breath,” Redick said. “For us, as we play more and more games, we have to realize the cumulative effect of playing a lot of minutes, and Sunday, with the foot injury, it was a good opportunity for him to get some opportunities. Chance.
Things haven’t been going well for James or the Lakers over the past month. Heading into Friday’s game against the Timberwolves, the team had lost seven of its past 10 games.
James, who will turn 40 on December 30, is averaging 23 points, 9.1 assists and 8.0 rebounds this season.
After the Lakers’ loss to the Hawks, James vented about how injuries to the team’s depth players have made things difficult.
“Obviously, with the roster mismatch, we’re trying to figure it out,” he said. “So it’s very challenging. We don’t have a lot of room for error. … It’s big, big, big, big.
James added: “I don’t know what’s going to get us through this. We’ve got to not drown. Don’t drown and we’ll be fine.
