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Lakers Rumors: LeBron James Gets Up as Early as 5 in the Morning to Rehab Injury
April 4, 2021
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is putting in work when it comes to his recovery from his high ankle sprain.
In an appearance on SportsCenter on Sunday, ESPN's Dave McMenamin reported James wakes up at 5 a.m. to work through his rehab.
"He wants to get back to the court," he said. "He's itching for it."
James was making his case for a fifth MVP award with his performance through 41 games for the Lakers, averaging 25.4 points, 7.9 assists and 7.9 rebounds per game before he was injured in a game against the Atlanta Hawks on March 20.
Atlanta forward Solomon Hill got caught up with James as he grabbed a loose ball. James attempted to play through the injury but was ruled out with what was diagnosed with a high ankle sprain, which ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski initially reported could keep the reigning NBA Finals MVP out for three to four weeks.
"James has shown in his career an incredible ability to recover quickly from injury and play through injury, but this one's not going to be so easy, and the Lakers, again, are preparing for the possibility this is going to be weeks, not days," Wojnarowski said on Get Up on March 22.
McMenamin said Sunday that it was expected James would be out for four to six weeks total.
With the Lakers missing both of their stars (Anthony Davis is out with a calf strain), Talen Horton-Tucker, Alex Caruso, Montrezl Harrell, and Kyle Kuzma should pick up more responsibility for the team, which is 31-18 and holding the fourth seed in the Western Conference.