LeBron James is apparently confident that he'll be able to return from his foot injury in time for the playoffs — if the Los Angeles Lakers make it in.
On Tuesday's edition of “NBA Today,” ESPN's Dave McMenamin revealed that, following the Lakers' win over the Orlando Magic on Sunday, he overheard a Crypto.com Arena worker ask LeBron when he's coming back.
LeBron's response? “Playoffs, for sure.”
(As someone who covers every Lakers home game, it's very common for players, including LeBron, to casually interact with reporters, arena workers, and others as they stroll from the locker room to their cars.)
McMenamin added that LeBron will likely have his right foot injury re-evaluated by the team on Thursday, which would mark about three and a half weeks since he last played on Feb. 26. LeBron has missed the last 11 games, of which the Lakers have won six. At 35-37, they sit tied for the No. 9 seed with 10 games left.
On March 2, the team announced that LeBron has a “right foot tendon injury” and would be re-evaluated in “approximately three weeks.”
Prior to the Magic game, Darvin Ham expressed vague optimism that LeBron would return before the end of the regular season.
“We anticipate him coming back at some point,” said Ham, noting that everything is going according to plan with James' recovery.
On Friday, Dennis Schroder hinted that LeBron may have traveled to Germany recently, presumably to have the injury checked out (maybe that's where LeBron posted this Instagram video?)
LeBron will likely need at least a week of ramp-up time if the re-evaluation goes perfectly, putting him on track to get in a few games before the playoffs begin. The Lakers' 82-game slate concludes on April 9.
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