Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James clarified reports about his timeline to return to the court as he recovers from a right foot tendon injury that has sidelined him since Feb. 26.
On Thursday morning, a handful of NBA reporters simultaneously reported that LeBron is aiming to play in the final few games of the regular season.
“Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James hopes to make his return in the final few games of the regular season,” tweeted Bleacher Report's Chris Haynes.
“There’s an increasing optimism that Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James could return to play ‘a few' games in the final week of the regular season,” reported ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
“Lakers star LeBron James (foot tendon injury) has begun on-court activity and the team says there's no timeline yet for return. Sources say James is hopeful for a return within the final 3-to-4 games of the regular season,” wrote The Athletic's Shams Charania.
“LeBron James continues his on-court activity and is on a ‘gradual basketball movement progression,' the Lakers said on Thursday. There is no specific timeline for his return to game action, according to the team,” tweeted ESPN's Dave McMenamin.
On SportsCenter, McMenamin said the Lakers' “official re-evaluation will come down today” and he's hoping to play in the final three games or so of the season.
"A league source familiar with LeBron James' thinking told me that he believes LeBron will push for some time over the final 3 games that the Lakers play in Los Angeles… so long as there's no setbacks in his rehab."
— Dave McMenaminpic.twitter.com/9n6OIQwvp1
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) March 23, 2023
However, LeBron clearly took umbrage with all the speculation. He took to Twitter to clarify that he has, in fact, not undergone a re-evaluation.
“There wasn’t an evaluation today and there hasn’t been any target date for my return. I’m just working around the clock, every day(3X a day) to give myself to best chance of coming back full strength whenever that is. God bless y’all sources. 🤦🏾♂️ I speak for myself!”
LeBron has been seen doing on-court activities before recent Lakers games and at practice, including light shooting. Last week, Dennis Schroder and Darvin Ham said LeBron — as he references in his tweet — has been putting in three intense workout sessions per day. Schroder hinted that LeBron may have gone to Germany for treatment.
The Lakers (36-37) currently occupy the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference standings with nine games left in the season. They're 7-5 since LeBron got hurt.
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