Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James suffered a Grade 2 MCL sprain in his left knee in Game 5 against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday, according to a league source.
The Lakers’ postseason run ended with a 103-96 loss to the Timberwolves. But if the team had forced a Game 6, it would have likely been without James, who scored 22 points and shot 42.9 percent from the field Wednesday night.
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The injury seemingly occurred with 8:39 left in the fourth quarter when he collided with Timberwolves guard Donte DiVincenzo, who ran into James’ knee.
James, who is 40 years old and just finished his 22nd NBA season, fell to the floor after the collision. Officials called DiVincenzo for an offensive foul, and James checked out of the game for about a minute before returning.
Though James played the final 7:23 of the game, the Lakers were unable to catch the Timberwolves, led by center Rudy Gobert’s 27 points and 24 rebounds.
If the Lakers had won, Game 6 would have happened Friday. A Grade 2 MCL sprain can take four to six weeks to heal, so James likely would have missed that game and a Game 7, too.
It’s still unclear whether James plans to return for an eighth season with the Lakers. During Wednesday’s postgame news conference, James said he hadn’t made a decision yet. He has until June 29 to exercise a $52.6 million player option for next season.
“You don’t know what the (Lakers) roster will look like next year besides the guys that (are) locked into contracts,” James said. “S—, I got a lot to think about myself. So I don’t know what the roster will look like. I don’t know where I stand right now.”
The Lakers entered the postseason as the Western Conference’s No. 3 seed, while the Timberwolves came in at No. 6. The series upset leaves James’ playoff record at 184-108.
Minnesota will now face either the Golden State Warriors or the Houston Rockets in the conference semifinals. Golden State leads that series, 3-2, with Game 6 set for Friday at 9 p.m. ET.
(Photo: Harry How / Getty Images)
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