LeBron James' 56-point outing against the Golden State Warriors is a work of art on it's own. However, amidst the greatness of that performance, it's easy to forget that the Los Angeles Lakers star has been nursing a knee injury all season long.

After said game against the Warriors, LeBron James talked about playing through that pesky knee injury. The Lakers star admitted that the pain still bothered him a bit, but he was still able to play through it. (via ClutchPoints' Michael Corvo)

“I feel it. But at the end of the day, if I’m on the floor, I have a job to do. If it gets to the point where I feel like it’s hurting me in the long run, I shouldn’t be out there.”

Article Continues Below
Related News
Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick reacts to his team losing the lead to the Minnesota Timberwolves late in the fourth quarter during game four of first round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Target Center.
Lakers’ JJ Redick link up with Les Snead at Rams campMiguel La Torre ·
image thumbnail
Sources: Lakers split on trading core playersAnthony Irwin ·
Lakers' Rob Pelinka with a Lakers logo in the middle Mavs Center Daniel Gafford on one side, Nets center Nic Claxton on the other. Question marks around them.
Sources: ‘Extremely active’ Lakers looking to add multiple bigs on trade marketAnthony Irwin ·
Cleveland Cavaliers center Shaquille O'Neal (33) being defended by Chicago Bulls center Brad Miller (52) during the second quarter in game four of the first round of the 2010 NBA playoffs at the United Center.
Former Laker Shaq, Brad Miller recreate brawl photo 23 years laterZachary Howell ·
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) talks with his coach during a stoppage in play against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second quarter during game four of first round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Target Center.
Lakers rumors: LeBron James’ ‘likely’ $52.6 million contract decisionPreston Byers ·
Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves (15) reacts in the first half against the San Antonio Spurs at the Crypto.com Arena.
Lakers guard Austin Reaves’ agent fires shot at fans’ trade proposalsJoey Mistretta ·

The Lakers' dismal 2021 – 22 campaign had some people clamoring for James to be shut down for the season. The reasoning for them was that there was no point in risking LeBron's health this late into his career. Many fans point to Kobe Bryant injuring himself multiple times towards the tail end of his career as a precautionary tale.

Clearly, though, LeBron wants none of that shutting down talk. The Lakers star all but proved that he could play through the pain with his 56-point, 10-rebound performance against one of the best teams in the league. However, the pressing matter at hand is that the Lakers needed this godly performance from James to hang with the Warriors.

Is this a sustainable model for the Lakers? Should they even rely on a banged-up James to carry them every single night? These questions will need to be answered in the future for the team.