During the Los Angeles Lakers vs. Boston Celtics matchup on Saturday evening, LeBron James suffered an injury. That is, with 7:00 left in the fourth quarter, the NBA's all-time leading scorer seemed to have tweaked his left groin, and the concern is that LeBron "could be out for weeks, not days due to this new injury" (per ESPN's Dave McMenamin).
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LeBron could potentially be sidelined for weeks after suffering a left groin injury, per @mcten pic.twitter.com/nHiDaLurpY
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 9, 2025
In view of how it happened, James said he may have "extended it a bit," when pivoting around Celtics' Jaylen Brown to score his 22nd point of the game.
This is the play where LeBron strained his left groin. MRI will determine severity and timeline to return
Grade I: 1-2 weeks
Grade II: 4-6 weeks pic.twitter.com/TGpbke4bxI— Dr. Evan Jeffries, DPT (@GameInjuryDoc) March 9, 2025
To note, this basket brought the Lakers within seven (92-85), after they had a point differential of 22 earlier in the contest.
"I looked at the score," LeBron said in the postgame interviews. "I was like, 'Oh s***.'"
"Those are moments you live for, especially in a game like this, not being out there. So, I was cheering on the guys while I was back here [inside the locker room]."
Undoubtedly, this injury is devastating for the Lakers, who had won eight straight prior to Saturday's 111-101 loss vs. the Celtics.
Now, currently being the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference with a 40-22 record, Luka and company will have to go on without their team leader during the rest of the Lakers' road trip.
"Obviously, to get injured at this time, those [groin] injuries are ... I don't want to say the worst, but they are tough to deal with," Doncic said when asked about his co-star. "So, just take his time. And we got to have as a team a next-man-up mentality."
To point out, as many remember back during LeBron's first season in a Lakers uniform, he tore his groin on Christmas Day (2018) vs. the Golden State Warriors and ended up missing 17 games.
"I've been there before, and I know what type of injury you're dealing with," LeBron said to reporters.
And when asked to compare the severity of his most recent injury to the one that happened over six years ago, the 40-year-old vet assuredly said, "No, it's not as bad as that. It's not as bad as that."
LeBron on his groin injury:
“Not much concern… Day-to-day, look at it each day & see if it gets better.”
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) March 9, 2025
When looking at the timetable for return, the hope is that it's just a 'Grade 1 sprain,' as this will only result in missing no more than a handful of games. However, if it ends up being diagnosed as a 'Grade 2 sprain,' the 22-year NBA vet could miss up to a month or two.
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