The Los Angeles Lakers have done an outstanding job of not just staying afloat, but thriving while superstar LeBron James recovers from his foot injury. The Lakers have won seven of their last 10 games to climb right in the thick of the Play-In Tournament with the chance to move even higher.
But the success of the Lakers will always hinge on the health and play of its two superstars, LeBron and Anthony Davis, and the biggest question remains when will James return to the lineup. There is still some time until LeBron will be re-evaluated, but this latest piece of video is encouraging, to say the least.
During Tuesday morning’s shootaround ahead of the Lakers’ game against the New Orleans Pelicans, James was seen on the court taking free throws, via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin:
LeBron James, back on the court, taking free throws after shootaround in New Orleans pic.twitter.com/W7N6Vx71sw
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) March 14, 2023
This bit of on-court activity was the first for LeBron since the injury, though he did do some weight lifting and rehab during the shootaround as well:
James lifted and did rehab during Lakers shootaround, per the team. The standstill free throws was the first on-court activity for James since the injury, per the Lakers. https://t.co/KfdzqcquQ5
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) March 14, 2023
After the workout, James posted the following on Instagram:
While it is still unknown exactly when LeBron will be back suited up for the Lakers, it is encouraging to see him on the court and shows that progress is being made. Regardless of how good the team has looked while James is injured, the ceiling of the team is greatly increased with arguably the greatest player of all time on the court.
With the Western Conference completely wide open, there is some belief that the Lakers could make a run if healthy. But LeBron getting back in the lineup, building up that chemistry with his new teammates and allowing Darvin Ham to lock in his rotations, would be huge for the Lakers and really allow the team to find themselves before what they hope will be a long playoff run.
Lakers’ LeBron James’ rehab going ‘according to plan’
This latest step for James is in line with what Ham recently spoke about as he said the Lakers superstar’s rehab is going great and that it has allowed him to step away and detach for a bit.
“Everything is going according to plan,” Ham said. “I’ve lived through this with Kobe and Giannis, there’s a variety of ways you can treat different injuries, and it’s also good for him to just unplug a little bit. Not be detached necessarily, but just mentally get a little bit of a calming to everything that has transpired over the year. Our ups, our downs, him passing Kareem, people hardly ever talk about him becoming fourth in all-time assists.
“But just all of the attention that has been on him, people with cameras constantly in his presence, following him everywhere whether it’s home or on the road. And another thing they don’t talk about in Bronny. Bronny is about to take the next step and what his duties as a father and a husband on top of everything he’s doing professionally and more specifically in this year, which has been a really high-profile year. There’s been the trades with his teammates, so it’s been a lot. So it’s not just about him getting healthy, it’s about him being in a good place mentally and spiritually so we get the best version of him when he returns.”
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