Back in 2021, the Lakers were deep into their title defense when LeBron James suffered an injury that changed the trajectory of not just that season, but the career of their superstar.
Los Angeles was hosting Atlanta when Solomon Hill dove headfirst at LeBron’s legs. Every Lakers fan likely remembers what happened next as LeBron crumpled to the ground and missed the next 21 games. By the time he returned, the Lakers had gone from contenders to a play-in team before ultimately losing to the Suns in the opening
round of the playoffs.
That play involving Hill will haunt Lakers fans for decades to come, especially after LeBron admitted to Dave McMenamin of ESPN that he has never truly physically recovered.
“My foot and my ankle ain’t been the same since. Ever since that injury, I’ve been fighting uphill to get it back to normal. But it’s been a little blah ever since. What could have been, for sure. I was playing some of the best basketball of my career up until that point and leading this franchise in the right direction and then something like that happens, a high ankle sprain, and there’s nothing you can do about that.”
Even at the time, the dive Hill took was considered reckless by many. Lakers players Dennis Schröder and Montrezl Harrell both said it was postgame, and Hill had to defend himself.
Dirty or not, the impact has been significant, as it’s been years later and LeBron still doesn’t feel the same. Since then, LeBron has sustained additional injuries, making it impossible to be fully healthy.
In 2023, he tore a tendon in his right foot and went to “the LeBron James of feet” to get it fixed. He did come back, but his burst was clearly missing and LeBron hinted that perhaps only offseason surgery could fix it.
LeBron avoiding that injury from Hill’s dive is one of the “what ifs” of his career. Perhaps had that not happened, he would’ve kept a bit more of his burst and subsequent injuries to his right foot might have been avoided.
Luckily, it hasn’t stopped James from having a long and successful career, but it’s still frustrating to hear that such a reckless dive continues to impact his game to this day.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.
