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Lakers Rumors: LeBron James 'Expects to Be as Close to 100% as He Can Be'
May 18, 2021
Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James is reportedly feeling good about his ankle entering Wednesday's play-in tournament game against the Golden State Warriors.
Appearing Tuesday on Get Up, ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski said LeBron's ankle is "fine" and that he "expects to be as close to 100 percent as he can be" for the game against Golden State.
Wojnarowski noted that James tweaked his ankle in Sunday's season-closing win over the New Orleans Pelicans, but there isn't much concern about it hampering him Wednesday.
James missed a significant amount of time with a high ankle sprain during the regular season, which is a big reason why the reigning NBA champions finished seventh in the Western Conference and must play their way into the playoffs.
Los Angeles went just 12-15 during the regular season without the veteran, most of which came when he was out with the high ankle sprain. He initially returned after about a month away but reaggravated the injury after just two games back.
James played the final two games of the regular season but again appeared to suffer another injury during the finale:
Lakers fans and members of the organization were undoubtedly holding their breath when that happened, but Wojnarowski's report suggests that LeBron avoided anything serious.
Even at 36 years old, James remains one of the most valuable players in the NBA after averaging 25.0 points, 7.8 assists and 7.7 rebounds per game. He earned his 17th straight All-Star selection while averaging at least 25 points for the 17th straight year.
After playing most of the season without at least one of their key players, the Lakers are essentially at full strength entering the playoffs with James, Anthony Davis, Dennis Schroder, Andre Drummond, Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope leading the way.