Injured LeBron James # 6 of the Los Angeles Lakers sits on the bench during their first-half Golden State Warriors game on April 7, 2022 at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California. Ezra Shaw / Getty Images / AFP
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James will miss the last two matches of the season due to a sprained ankle.
The Lakers announced the condition of the experienced forward on Friday after evaluating the team’s medical staff.
“He will miss the rest of the 2021-22 NBA season for continued healing and the expected full recovery,” the team said.
James, 37, 27 March suffered an ankle injury. After sitting out two games, he returned on April 1 and scored 38 points at 114-111 against the New Orleans Pelicans.
That was the final appearance of his campaign, putting his season-ending number at 30 starts with 30.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists.
By not reaching the minimum requirement of 58 games, James is not eligible to win the NBA scoring title. Philadelphia 76ers center Joel MBD entered the game on Friday with an average of 30.4 points per game.
With James sitting down, Los Angeles were officially knocked out of Tuesday’s 121-110 play-off race against the Phoenix Sons.
The Lakers (31-49) have lost eight in a row. Their last two games are at home on Friday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder and on Sunday against the Nuggets in Denver.
James is an 18-time All-Star, four-time League MVP and four-time NBA champion. He will enter his 20th season in 2022-23 to surpass Karim Abdul-Jabbar (36,37) as the league’s all-time scoring leader and needs 1,326 points.
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