During the second quarter of Los Angeles’ game against Utah, Walter Clayton Jr. collided with LeBron James’ knee, causing him to fall to the ground.
James was slow to get up and walked gingerly, trying to shake it off. Somehow, he was relatively okay, and he played the rest of the game.
, LeBron elaborated on the moment and was just as relieved as fans were that it didn’t become a serious injury.James getting hit in the knee could’ve been disastrous for the Lakers. When you also factor in that it was his left knee, the same one that suffered a Grade 2 MCL sprain in the playoffs against the Wolves last year, it’s miraculous that he didn’t damage it.
LeBron, as the oldest player in the league, has to be wary of every fall and bump. His body has more mileage than anyone, and anything can become a serious injury.
Thankfully, his knee seems to have taken the hit and survived it just fine.
LeBron didn’t just play in this game against the Jazz, he was a big part of the reason the Lakers won. He had a monster dunk in the first half and played 33 minutes, scoring 28 points along with 10 assists.
With Deandre Ayton, Austin Reaves and Gabe Vincent all out for the contest, they needed his production to secure the result.
After missing the first 14 games of the year with a sciatica issue, LeBron has been available and impactful for the Lakers. He continues to improve his play and is starting to look like his dominant self again.
The Lakers can’t afford to lose that kind of production for an extended period of time, so it’s great that he avoided a serious injury.
Now, LeBron can focus on icing his knee and getting ready for the last few games left in December. Hopefully, this injury scare is the last one LeBron has this season, and the rest of Year 23 will be a relatively injury-free one.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.
