As Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James has gotten older, he’s had to deal with more injuries than he’s experienced in his career.
Throughout the 2025-26 season, James has managed things such as a foot ailment that he attributed to old age. The nicks and bruises James has endured have begun to add up, though he still finds a way to physically be ready for almost each game.
James’ injury woes can be traced back to the 2020-21 season when Solomon Hill collided into his leg diving for a loose ball. James suffered a right high ankle sprain and he admitted that he still feels the effects of the injury, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN:
“For sure. 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.”
James actually checked back into that game, but went on to miss 20 games in the midst of one of his best regular seasons. He had seven points at the time of the injury and promptly hit a triple to get to double digits to keep his scoring streak alive at the time:
“Yeah, I’m not going to sit here and lie and say I didn’t know where I was. But I’ve hurt my ankle and my foot a couple times and I’ve laced my shoes up and just went back and played. And that was kind of my mindset. It wasn’t like, “Continue the streak.” It was more like, “Well, let me see. Let me see.” Or more like, “F—. Please no. Please no. Please, not right now.” Because, I’m playing too f—ing [well]. I have a chance to have a historical season.”
The Lakers could have been in better position to defend their championship had James not gotten hurt, so it must sting for the star and the franchise.
James has done well to get back into the postseason this year, but he’ll need to recapture some of that MVP-level form to get over a pesky Houston Rockets team.
LeBron James responds to Rockets’ claims of being better team
The Rockets don’t lack much confidence as they’ve proclaimed themselves the better team in the series with the Lakers. James has seen far too much in his postseason career to get rattled over such comments, so he brushed them aside when asked about them.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events, participate in live shows, and more!
