LeBron James marked his return from an ankle injury in the Los Angeles Lakers‘ 97-100 loss to the Charlotte Hornets. The injury sidelined James from the 2025 All-Star Weekend, with him missing the game causing widespread criticism with people mad at him for not relinquishing the spot earlier if he knew he would not play.
He was cleared to play against the Hornets when he dominated. He even recorded a phenomenal poster dunk on Mark Williams, prompting Kevin Garnett to call out James for lying about the injury.
“Bron full of shiii. Ankle my ass. Hit the clock on the young buhs.”
Garnett was being praiseful of James for his honestly incredible feat. Dunking in the NBA at 40 years old consistently is rare enough, but LeBron is still catching bodies against centers who are over 15 years younger than him.
"An absolute thunder dunk by LeBron!" 🌩️ pic.twitter.com/HWzZzqfdKE
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) February 20, 2025
Even though Garnett was objectively impressed by the dunk, we have to discuss the implication that James wasn’t too hurt to participate at All-Star. This is a notion widely held by fans as well, highlighted by LeBron doing things somebody with an ankle injury wouldn’t do during the pre-game.
LeBron's very active for someone who skipped the All-Star Game with a sore ankle 🤣pic.twitter.com/MpYuElbXcG
— NBA Memes (@NBAMemes) February 20, 2025
If there were any more doubts, LeBron’s stat line should clear them up. He scored 26 points (10-22 FG) with seven rebounds and 11 assists in the loss. He single-handedly carried the Lakers in the fourth quarter, scoring 16 points in the period but missing two clutch three-pointers which could have sent the game to OT.
Playing A Back-To-Back Despite Returning From Injury
James’ springiness helped the Lakers keep this game close. But it’s hard to say James wouldn’t have had this burst if he played 10-20 minutes in the All-Star Game within its newer and shortened format.
The true health of his ankle will be tested if James participates in the Lakers game tonight against the Portland Trail Blazers. Older players are generally held out of back-to-backs, especially if they’re coming off an injury. LeBron fits both categories but might need to play to ensure the Lakers don’t lose to a feisty Blazers squad.
New superstar teammate Luka Doncic hasn’t looked great since returning from his calf injury, so the Lakers might want to exercise caution with him as well. Doncic just came off a minutes restriction, but he needs the on-court reps to increase his acclimatization to the Lakers system.
Luka was the one who looked like he was still injured, playing poorly in his third game with the franchise. Doncic hadn’t played since Christmas due to a calf injury but has looked unspectacular in his first three games in a Lakers uniform. He put up 14 points (5-18 FG), 11 rebounds, and eight assists in a poor outing.
Both players are coming off injuries and neither can afford to sit this game against the Blazers out. The likeliest outcome is that they both play but the team manages their minutes. We know LeBron will be ready to go, but it’ll be hard to guarantee a win if Doncic can’t break out of his current slump against Portland.
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