LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers may miss multiple weeks with an injury to his right foot, a person familiar with the situation said Monday night.
The full extent of the injury is not yet known and more test results were pending, said the person, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither James nor the Lakers announced anything about a long-term absence.
The Lakers had already ruled James — the NBA’s all-time leading scorer — out for Tuesday’s game at Memphis with what they called right foot soreness.
James played 37 minutes in the Lakers’ 111-108 win at Dallas on Sunday, helping Los Angeles rally from a 27-point deficit. But he left the arena with a pronounced limp, with video from The Dallas Morning News showing how much the foot was bothering him.
He got hurt in the third quarter, grabbing at the ankle after spending some time on the floor in obvious pain. But he stayed in to finish the game, noting how important it was to the Lakers’ playoff hopes.
“It’s been better,” James said. “But I definitely wasn’t going to locker room and not finish the game. The importance of this game and then the momentum that we had, I felt like we could steal one after being down.”
Meanwhile, LaMelo Ball’s broke his right ankle in Charlotte’s 117-106 win over the Detroit Pistons on Monday night.
He and the Hornets (20-43) were playing their best basketball of the season, before the point guard fell to the floor on a non-contact play in the third quarter.
X-rays revealed the fracture to Ball’s ankle.
Ball had entered the game with five straight double-doubles and appeared on his way to another with 18 points, six rebounds and five assists before leaving with 9:26 left in quarter.
He was also shooting the ball extremely well from deep, having made 47.3% (27 of 57) of his 3-point shots over the last five games. He was 6 of 7 from beyond the arc against the Pistons.
Charlotte’s five-game win streak was the team’s longest of the season.
Ball had just dribbled behind his back and appeared to be setting up to work off a screen from center Mark Williams beyond the 3-point arc when he fell to the ground. He grabbed the loose ball and passed to Williams, who found a teammate for a score.
TOP PHOTO: Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, left, reaches for the ball against Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic, right, during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Dallas, Sunday, Feb. 26, 2023. (AP Photo/LM Otero)