LeBron James is making progress with the knee injury he suffered in the Lakers‘ final playoff game.
James stated that his left MCL sprain is “getting better” in a recent edition of his “Mind the Game” podcast with Steve Nash (hat tip to Corey Hansford of Lakers Nation). He adds that the most difficult part of the process is having to remain relatively inactive while the knee heals.
“That’s the most challenging thing,” James said. “Even though I can’t do much as far as like lower body stuff, I’m still like in the weight room, still getting in upper body. The one thing I am able to do a little bit is ride like a stationary bike just to kind of keep the blood flowing and things of that nature, keep the flexibility as much as possible in the knee. But I’m not a guy that likes to sit around. I have a lot of energy and I hate sitting around, so this has definitely been, almost two weeks after the season, they always tell you to take time off and I’m just not that guy. I’m going crazy right now, for sure.”
James remained in the news this week by earning second-team All-NBA honors. He turned in an unprecedented campaign for a 40-year-old — averaging 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 8.2 assists in 70 games — and received All-NBA recognition for the 21st straight year.
“ALL NBA at 40!! Low key crazy to me right now! Sitting here watching the playoffs just thinking about it,” James tweeted. “Blessed beyond I can even imagine.”
James has a $52.6MM player option for next season, but in the aftermath of the Lakers’ playoff loss, he expressed uncertainty about whether he plans to continue playing, and it appears that stance hasn’t changed. His agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, wasn’t able to offer any insight into James’ plans during a recent appearance on The Rich Eisen Show, per Kurt Helin of NBC Sports.
Helin states that the expectation around the league is that James will be back for at least another year, as he was energized by the chance to play alongside his son, Bronny, and to team up with Luka Doncic. Whatever James’ decision turns out to be, Paul indicated that he won’t rush into it.
“I have no idea, zero. Normally our process is, kind of weigh everything and see how he’s feeling and all those type of things,” he said. “… Same process it’s been for the last I don’t know how many years. … He’ll come around to what he’s thinking at some point and we’ll kind of go over some things and go from there.”