LeBron James Reportedly Suffered Knee Injury in Lakers' NBA Playoffs Exit vs. Wolves
LeBron James suffered a left knee injury after colliding with the Minnesota Timberwolves' Donte Dincenzo during the Los Angeles Lakers' season-ending Game 5 loss on Wednesday, according to ESPN's Dave McMenamin.
The injury is a Grade 2 MCL sprain with an anticipated recovery time of between three and five weeks, per McMenamin.
The collision occurred with just under nine minutes left in the fourth quarter. James briefly left the court but returned to finish out the 103-96 loss.
McMenamin reported that James, who has never missed a playoff game due to injury, would not have been available for Game 6 had the Lakers been able to extend the series.
Instead, Anthony Edwards and the Wolves closed out the series tohand the Lakers the team's second consecutive first-round exit.
The Lakers have multiple key questions to answer this offseason, including whether Luka Dončić will sign a four-year extension and commit long-term to Los Angeles and if James will take his player option for the 2025-26 season.
ESPN's Shams Charania said Thursday on the Pat McAfee Show that there is "no expectation" James will retire this summer, but the Lakers star said he didn't have an answer when asked how long he would play after this season.
"Just continuing to play, I don't know where I'm at," James told McMenamin. "That's what that is. Not coming back to play here. Just playing, period."
Dončić is also dealing with a potential injury after taking contact from DiVincenzo in Game 5. He told reporters after the game that his back was "not good at all but I tried to go."
The Lakers will hope to have James and Dončić both healthy and signed in time for next season as the franchise looks to make a deep playoff run for the first time since 2023.
