After LeBron James said he felt something “pop” when he hurt his ankle Sunday, the Los Angeles Lakers and their fans prepared for the worst.
A day later, those fears were realized. The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported that the Lakers are “bracing” for James to miss multiple weeks.
“The belief is he will be sidelined an indefinite amount,” Charania said.
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. https://t.co/zuovQ2wVzc
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 28, 2023
This is the last thing the Lakers (29-32) need right now as they fight for a playoff spot in the Western Conference.
James injured his foot in the third quarter of Sunday’s comeback win over the Dallas Mavericks. After going up for a contested layup, he landed awkwardly and went down, holding his ankle. James could be heard saying, “I heard a pop. I heard a pop,” as he rolled on the floor holding his ankle.
“I heard it pop”
– LeBron pic.twitter.com/bP9aLeRFvv
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) February 26, 2023
James’ decision to finish the game with the injury looks even worse now in retrospect given the serious situation.
NBA fans reacted quickly to the bad news. While the Lakers have not released details of James’ injury, sports medicine experts and orthopedic specialists who weighed in said the situation doesn’t look good from what they know.
Foot injuries can evolve very quickly in the early days, can be tough to diagnose and risk/reward can vary significantly. For those reasons, multiple opinions makes sense and timeline will be TBD until more is known. If midfoot, it’s a tricky area due to unique mechanics
— Dr. Rajpal Brar, DPT (@3cbPerformance) February 28, 2023
Based on mechanism and the “pop” LeBron heard the fear would be plantar fascia tear or midfoot injury
— Dr. Evan Jeffries, DPT (@GameInjuryDoc) February 28, 2023
It was a miracle, but a bad one I guess
— Duncan Smith (@DuncanSmithNBA) February 28, 2023
i’ll never understand why nba players feel like it’s a good idea to keep playing after they get injured in a game
— The Old Narrator (@TheOldNarrator) February 28, 2023
I legit feel bad for the Lakers, it’s just sad at this point
— Thomas 🏀 (@ThomasBuckets78) February 28, 2023
Multiple weeks?! Yeah, pack it up.
— Unbiased NBA Fan (@nonbiasednbafan) February 28, 2023
About Arthur Weinstein
Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.