The Los Angeles Lakers and their fans received unfortunate news on Monday: LeBron James is expected to miss multiple weeks with a right foot injury.

The diagnosis couldn't come at a worse time. The Lakers just rattled off three encouraging wins, fueling their ascent into the Western Conference playoff picture. At 29-32, LA sits 12th in the West — one game out of the Play-In and 2.5 games behind the No. 6 seed. The vibes they were a-changin'.

Los Angeles is 36-62 without James since he joined the franchise. This season, the Lakers are 5-9 without LeBron; 10.2 points per 100 possessions better with him on the court.

They're 1-1 without him since the trade deadline acquisitions joined the mix. D'Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, and Jarred Vanderbilt (plus Anthony Davis) have allowed the Lakers to remain functional while LeBron carried a lighter load. Perhaps AD can play MVP-caliber ball the rest of the way and Russell can perform at an All-Star level in a contract year (when he returns from a sprained ankle, likely on Friday). Troy Brown Jr., Austin Reaves, and Rui Hachimura will aggregate LeBron's minutes.

Lineups with AD and without LeBron, Russell Westbrook, and Patrick Beverley have yielded a positive net rating.

Still: No amount of newfound depth can compensate for the team's leading scorer and orchestrator. Across 47 appearances in his 20th season, LeBron is averaging 29.5 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 6.9 assists on 50.1% shooting in 36.1 minutes per game.

LeBron James' injury: Everything we know

The 38-year-old has been nursing left foot soreness for weeks — a result of wear and tear (an MRI revealed no structural damage) that is expected to linger into the offseason. It's caused him to miss seven games, including three right before the All-Star break. In January, Darvin Ham expressed concern about overworking the veteran. LeBron has apparently been playing through right foot issues since January, as well, per reports.

“We can’t run him into the ground,” Ham said. “That was one of my main goals coming into the season.”

Towards the end of the third quarter of the Lakers' 27-point comeback win over the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday, LeBron landed awkwardly on a layup attempt. Microphones picked up LeBron saying he “heard it pop” — the three scariest words in sports.

LeBron ignored the pain and scored five points to begin the fourth period. After getting treatment on the bench, he powered his way to three post layups to help seal the deal. He finished with 26 points (10-of-23 FG), 8 rebounds, and 3 assists in 37 minutes.

Postgame, Ham struck a positive tone.

“He’s good. Our medical people are looking at him right now. He’ll get reevaluated again in the morning. And so once we get some type of official word tomorrow, we’ll go from there. But, as of right now, he’s good.”

LeBron was more measured.

“It’s been better. That’s for sure. But I definitely wasn’t going to go to the locker room and not finish the game out tonight. Just understood the importance of the game and then with the momentum that we had, I felt like we could still win after being down.”

His gimpy walk out of the American Airlines Center was not reassuring.

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Not long after LeBron was ruled out of the Lakers' Tuesday matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies, The Athletic reported a more distressing update on the 19-time All-Star.

“Sources: There's fear Lakers star LeBron James is likely to miss an extended period of time with his right foot injury. James suffered the injury in Sunday's win over Dallas, played through it, and belief is he will be sidelined an indefinite amount.

James miraculously played through the injury that is now expected to require multiple opinions, sources said, and the Lakers are bracing for his absence to be multiple weeks.”

LeBron — who called the 2022-23 homestretch the most “important games” of his career —vented his frustration:

LeBron and the Lakers will undergo more testing and seek advice from medical personnel to glean the precise nature of the injury, per ESPN. He'll reportedly be re-evaluated in about two weeks, and the team will proceed from there based on the assessment and the Lakers' place in the standings.

The season finale is Apr. 9. About six weeks away.