While it’s only a formality now, LeBron James reportedly suffered an MCL sprain in Game 5 against the Wolves.
While the Lakers’ season ended on Wednesday, had they won the game, it would have marked the probable end of LeBron James’ season anyway.
According to Dave McMenamin of ESPN, LeBron James reportedly suffered a Grade 2 MCL sprain in his left knee in Game 5 against the Wolves, an injury that would have ruled him out for multiple weeks.
Story filed to https://t.co/oAsD1rYqjW: LeBron James suffered a Grade 2 MCL sprain in his left knee from his collision with Donte DiVincenzo in Wednesday’s Game 5, a league source told ESPN. The injury entails a 3-5 week recovery timeline.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) May 2, 2025
Had the Lakers extended their series with the Wolves for Game 6 tonight in Minnesota, they would be without James and James’ record streak of 292 straight playoff games without sitting out would have been snapped https://t.co/FvVOF2xgfi
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) May 2, 2025
The play happened midway through the fourth quarter with the Lakers on defense. As LeBron went to close out to the perimeter, he ran into Donte DiVincenzo. The knee-to-knee contact between the two on the play led to the injury.
Donte divincenzo knee seemed to go directly into LeBron’s knee
Best case scenario: banged knees
Worst case scenario: MCL sprain because of the force from the outside affecting the inside part of the knee pic.twitter.com/wD0Z0RCwAy
— Dr. Evan Jeffries, DPT (@GameInjuryDoc) May 1, 2025
Now, it is a formality for the Lakers. But it could have been a much bigger deal. A timeline of 3-5 weeks would not have only ruled him out for the next round, but likely into the Conference Finals as well. Obviously, it would have been extremely difficult for the Lakers to advance without him, but that gives you a timeline of the severity of the injury.
LeBron was already set for a long summer of rest this year. Without any Olympics, he could rest up and recuperate. Ultimately, it doesn’t change any plans for the Lakers or LeBron for the offseason.
Even if it is a maximum of five weeks, that puts him back on the court by mid-to-late June, multiple months before the preseason would even begin.
But it does make a lot of critics of LeBron who were complaining about him flopping on the play look really dumb.
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