LeBron’s hand wrap at the postgame presser
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LeBron James wore a black hand wrap to his post-game press conference after Game 4, just minutes after news broke that James severely injured his hand while punching a white board after Game 1. James admitted to “essentially playing with a broken hand” for the rest of the series. James said his emotions boiled over after missed calls and the way the team ended the game.
“What happened? Self inflicted, post-game after Game 1,” James told ESPN after the game. “Very emotional for a lot of different reasons. Understanding how important that Game 1 was on the road for our ball club. What that would have done for us. The way we played. The calls that was made throughout the course of that game. I had emotions on the game was taken away from us. I had emotions on you just don’t get an opportunity like this on the road versus Golden State to be able to get a Game 1. I let the emotions get the best of me, and pretty much played the last three games with a broken hand. That’s what it is.”
Here’s how Sports Illustrated described the injury.
James reportedly was in a soft cast and underwent two MRIs on his hand.
Windhorst said that James had not been practicing. During press conferences, James hid the injury from the media by tucking his arm in.
Windhorst added that the swelling on James’ hand was “so bad after Game 1 that the imaging that they took couldn’t even determine if it was a break.”
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported he kept the injury quiet to prevent the Warriors from taking advantage of it during the series.
“LeBron James suffered a significant right hand injury after Game 1 when he punched a black board in the locker room, sources told me & @mcten. He had 2 MRIs & has been wearing a soft cast. LeBron not using injury as an excuse but kept quiet to prevent Warriors from knowing,” Windhorst tweeted.
Here’s a look at a close-up of James’ right hand during Game 4 courtesy of Getty. The discoloration could be from treatment he received throughout the series.
GettyLeBron James injured his hand by punching a white board after Game 1.
James declined to elaborate on his future plans, only to say that his kids are much older now than the last time he made his free agency decision. James said that will impact his decision.
In addition to the hand injury, James was dealing with an eye injury he sustained during Game 1 in a collision with Draymond Green. James spoke about the eye injury after Game 2.
“I’ll be in uniform, and I’ll continue to try to make plays and help our team be successful and try to get one up on the board,” James told the New York Post. “Yeah, she didn’t like the FaceTime that we had earlier. She was a little weirded out about it. But I’ll be fine. So everything’s good. Appreciate it.”
Here’s some additional photos of James hand.
LeBron wearing a brace on his injured right hand
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