LeBron James breaks silence on rare knee injury

Matthew Wadleigh

LeBron James breaks silence on rare knee injury image

The Los Angeles Lakers' postseason run came to an end in the first round in a 4-1 series loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. 

After the series ended, a report surfaced that LeBron James had suffered a Grade 2 MCL sprain in the final game of the series, an injury that was expected to sideline him 4-to-6 weeks. 

In the latest episode of "Mind The Game," James opened up about the knee injury and gave a surprising revelation. 

"This is my first knee injury. I've had tendinitis and patella and all that stuff, but this is the first time where I've had a sustained knee injury where you've gotta get off your feet and you've gotta be shelved for a minute... I felt it right away... I knew right then and there it was a pain I never had before."

With the 4-to-6 week timeline, James revealed he would've missed the rest of the series but said he expects to be back to full strength. 

"Unfortunately, even if we won Game 5 at home, I would've missed Game 6 and 7 and even further. I have some time to get it right and get back to full strength as far as my knee goes." 

It was a concerning injury, especially for a player who just finished up his 22nd NBA season and has seen his name pop up in retirement rumors. James also spoke about how he felt after the injury. 

"When I woke up Thursday morning and tried to get out of bed, I was like 'Holy s—' and I called doc right away." 

Now, James is resting and recovering to try and get back healthy, and the Lakers star even missed the Met Gala due to his knee injury

So, it will be rest and recovery for James ahead of the 2025-26 season. 

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Matthew Wadleigh

Matthew Wadleigh is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He was born and raised in Southern California and grew up a San Diego sports fan (yes, it’s tough, except for Aztecs hoops). Matthew went to Fresno State as a journalism major and got to see Davante Adams, Derek Carr, Paul George and Aaron Judge in person. Matthew has written for publications including ClutchPoints, Sportscasting, Fansided, Trojans Wire, UCLA Wire and Buffaloes Wire.