LeBron James suffered Grade 2 MCL sprain in his left knee after colliding with Minnesota Timberwolves' Donte DiVincenzo in the Los Angeles Lakers' Game 5 loss on Wednesday night, ESPN's Dave McMenamin reported on Friday.
The Lakers were eliminated from the playoffs on Wednesday, so there isn't any worry about James missing playing time. The recovery timeline is expected to be three-to-five weeks.
The collision happened in the fourth quarter of the contest, and James remained on the court for a couple minutes afterwards. He went to the bench for a brief rest but re-entered the game after just over a minute of game time came off the clock and played the final 7:23 of the fourth quarter. James finished with 22 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
Here's a video of the moment James was injured.
🚨 LeBron suffered a Grade 2 MCL knee sprain from collision with Donte DiVincenzo
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) May 2, 2025
pic.twitter.com/Ff3xTcFujT
James has a busy offseason ahead of him as he now has to deal with this injury on top of making a decision about his future in the NBA. He told reporters after the Lakers' loss on Wednesday that he has no answer about his career at this time, and that he's going to take time to go over his choice with his family.
It's expected that James will at least play one more NBA season, but where he plays could be another question in and of itself. He could pick up his player option for the 2025–26 season to remain with the Lakers, or he could head somewhere else. He's reportedly keeping his options open.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as LeBron James Suffered Knee Injury in Lakers' Season-Ending Loss to Timberwolves.
