LeBron James to Miss Rest of Lakers Season with Ankle Injury; Full Recovery Expected

LeBron James' quest to win the NBA scoring title will come up short because of his ankle injury. 

The Los Angeles Lakers announced Friday that James will miss the final two games of the season with a sprained ankle but is expected to make a full recovery. 

Following the announcement, James tweeted he "gave everything" he had and vowed to be back for his 20th season in the fall. 

The Lakers are mired in an eight-game losing streak and were eliminated from play-in contention Tuesday with a 121-110 defeat to the Phoenix Suns. 

James will end up missing eight of the Lakers' final 10 games this season. He sprained his ankle in the second quarter of a March 27 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. The 18-time All-Star was able to stay in the game, finishing with 39 points in 42 minutes. 

After sitting out the next two games, James returned to the lineup April 1 against the Pelicans. The 37-year-old had 38 points, eight rebounds and four assists in 40 minutes. That will be his final game of the 2021-22 season. 

NBA rules require a player to appear in at least 70 percent of the team's games (58 in an 82-game season) to qualify for the league leaderboard. 

James will finish this season with 56 games played. He ranks second in the NBA in scoring average (30.3 points per game). This will be the second-highest scoring season of his career, trailing only his mark of 31.4 points per game in 2005-06. 

Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid leads the league in scoring with 30.4 points per contest. 

The Lakers (31-49) will miss the playoffs for the second time in four seasons since James signed with the team. They have made the postseason only twice since 2013-14. 

Los Angeles will host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday and play the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena on Sunday.