In the midst of an eight-day break before the Los Angeles Lakers resume their season, LeBron James will leave the country for a brief vacation, according to ESPN's Dave McMenamin, before heading to Charlotte to play in his 15th consecutive All-Star Game, as captain of his own team against Team Giannis.

“You got to decompress and get away from the game a little bit,” said James after a shocking loss to the Atlanta Hawks. “Those guys will have a lot more time than I will, obviously. I'll be right back into it in two days. But just get fresh, get your minds right, get your bodies right. Come back with the notion that we'll make the playoffs.”

The break comes at a much-needed time, as the Lakers have now lost two straight, four of their last five and seven of their last 10 games, pushing them further back in the playoff race in the Western Conference.

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Los Angeles is now 2.5 games out of the eighth and last spot in the West and have the ninth-toughest remaining schedule, according to Tankathon — with two games against the Milwaukee Bucks remaining, as well as season-series cappers against the Golden State Warriors, Toronto Raptors, Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder in their future.

The Kings have already bumped the Los Angeles Clippers out of the last spot and have prospects to do even better with the acquisition of Harrison Barnes before the trade deadline, making this mini-vacation all the more needed for King James.