Getty Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James.
LeBron James will miss the Los Angeles Lakers’ November 4 matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder but the superstar could be sidelined even longer with an abdominal strain. The news comes just days after James expressed excitement to be returning to the court. ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reported that the Lakers plan to “take their time” with James’ latest return to the floor.
“New story: LeBron James is out with an abdominal strain. While no timeline for his return has been provided by the Lakers, a source familiar with the injury told ESPN that the team’s medical staff “wants to take their time” with James’ recovery,” McMenamin tweeted on November 4.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania provided a more optimistic update estimating that James is likely to miss “at least one week” with the injury.
“Lakers star LeBron James is expected to miss at least one week with abdominal strain, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium,” Charania noted on Twitter after James was ruled out against the Thunder. “Lakers want to be cautious with James’ injury early this season.”
ALL the latest Los Angeles Lakers news straight to your inbox! Join the Heavy on Lakers newsletter here!
LeBron Recently Expressed Excitement About Returning to the Court
Earlier this week, James took to Twitter to express his excitement to suit up again for the Lakers. Now, James is once again sidelined which has been an unfortunate theme for the Lakers to start the season.
“Man can’t wait to hoop again tomorrow night,” James tweeted on November 1.
James explained why he was so amped up to once again play basketball.
“I feel like I had a great 48 hours after that game on Sunday as far as my preparation, as far as my ankle, as far me getting back to feeling like myself,” James explained during a November 3 press conference. “And I also happened to be watching the Monday night game, watching Pat Mahomes throwing the ball sideways while defenders are running at him, and also watching a bunch of NBA games at the same time, and the competitive juices started flowing. So that’s when I sent the tweet out.
“It was just about the moment. Just love the moment and try to make the best plays to help our team win and at that point in time, it caused me to score and I was able to bring a few buckets at the time.”
LeBron Reaggravated the Injury on November 2 Against the Rockets
The news marks the third time in nine games that James has been sidelined, a carry over from a season ago that the Lakers were hoping to avoid. McMenamin reported James aggravated the injury in the Lakers’ November 2 win over the Rockets.
“Lakers superstar LeBron James is expected to miss ‘at least one week’ because of an abdominal strain, a source told ESPN on Thursday,” McMenamin detailed. “James has already been ruled out by the team for Thursday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, and another source familiar with the injury told ESPN that the Lakers’ medical staff ‘wants to take their time’ with James’ recovery.
“…James aggravated the injury, which the team is calling a rectus abdominis strain, in Tuesday’s 119-117 win over the Houston Rockets, sources told ESPN.”