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LeBron James was not happy with how the NBA handled his false-positive COVID-19 test earlier this week and put the league on notice after the Los Angeles Lakers‘ 119-116 loss to the Clippers on Friday night.
James was a late scratch on Tuesday against the Kings after being placed in the league’s health and safety protocols. James spent a few days away from the team and his family as he quarantined but shared that he felt something “fishy” was going on. He was later cleared for action once the evidence pointed to his positive test being a false positive, bringing an end to a frustrating experience for James.
“I knew I was going to get cleared because I never, ever felt sick. At all. And I know you can be asymptomatic, but, I mean, if what I had was a positive COVID test, then what are we doing? What are we talking about? So, I just thought it was handled very poorly,” James said.
“But being able to take the tests and get cleared, that was definitely a breath of fresh air not only for myself, but for my family and friends and everybody else involved,” James added. “It’s unfortunate when you get a false positive and you get put right into isolation, that’s just the unfortunate part, but we’ll see what happens.”
James Called Situation ‘Big-Time Inconvenience’
James traveled home to Los Angeles by himself — luckily the Lakers were in the same state — and he also had to deal with his family being put in isolation.
“They wouldn’t allow anyone to travel with me. No security, no anything, when I traveled back from Sacramento. And then I had to put my kids into isolation for the time being, and put people in my household in isolation for the time being,” James said. “It was just a big-time inconvenience, so that was just the angry part.”
It was even more frustrating for James considering he’s had a hard time staying in the lineup early on this season. He has yet to play four consecutive games for the Lakers due to injury, a one-game suspension and now the false-positive debacle.
James Commended for Stay Sharp Despite Uncertainty
For an athlete of James’ caliber, routine matters. And the problem for the four-time MVP was that he wasn’t able to do anything while waiting to hear the results.
“I’ve been sitting in the house since I got back Monday evening all the way until I got cleared at like 4 o’clock yesterday afternoon. This morning was the first time I actually got the opportunity to touch a basketball since Sunday’s game vs. Detroit,” James said.
James was commended by his teammates for showing up ready for action despite the turbulent week.
“It’s just tough when you’re in and out of the lineup, especially when you don’t have a reason to be out and you’re playing well,” Lakers star Anthony Davis told reporters. “It is frustrating a little bit. But no one is going to feel sorry for ourselves.”
The Lakers are back in action on Tuesday against the Celtics.
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