Earlier this week, LeBron James surpassed the great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the NBA’s all-time scoring record. An achievement made all the more remarkable knowing that the Los Angeles Lakers star was dealing with a debilitating foot injury during the game.
On this week’s episode of This League Uncut, NBA insider Chris Haynes said James has been nursing a foot injury, which reached ‘dire’ levels on Tuesday night.
“That Tuesday game, the record-breaking game, I was told LeBron was severely struggling with that foot injury he has,” Haynes said. “It’s been nagging him for a few weeks already, but it gets to points where it just gets unbearable, and he plays through it.”
Curiously, James sat out the Lakers’ contest against the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday, listed on the team’s injury report with left ankle soreness.
While it’s uncertain whether or not James is also suffering from an ankle injury, Haynes confirms that the 38-year-old’s foot is a real cause for concern.
“Sometimes it flares up different sides of his foot depending on the cut, the way that he plants sometimes,” Haynes said. “That might be something that lingers all season long, but it reached a dire point.”
If James was as hobbled as badly as reports indicate, his 38-point effort to make NBA history is one of the more incredible feats the league has witnessed.
However, if James plays through excruciating pain every night, that could have negative consequences for the Lakers down the stretch.
Following several acquisitions at the trade deadline, it’s now or never for the Lakers if they hope to get back into the playoff hunt, but they’ll need a healthy James to do it.
Heading into action on Saturday, the Lakers are 13th in the Western Conference standings at 25-31, 1.5 games behind the Utah Jazz (28-29) for the final play-in spot.
James entered Tuesday night’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder needing 36 points to pass Abdul-Jabbar’s 38,387 career points.
After scoring 20 points heading into halftime, James tallied 18 in the second half, setting the new record with a fade-away jumper with 10.9 seconds left in the third quarter.
