LeBron James' injury gets gloomy predictions from Shannon Sharpe: "Anybody that gets an injury in Year 20 is serious, LeBron is not 22"
LeBron James' injury has both LA Lakers fans and analysts concerned. In the midst of a rough start to the season for the Lakers, James was ruled out for the team's game vs. the Utah Jazz. Ultimately, the team lost the game, as the NBA great helplessly watched on from the sidelines.
Although he has played in every other game so far this season, LeBron James' injury could be a concern going forward. James has continued to deal with lingering injuries in recent years that have sidelined him for large stretches throughout the season.
The way football Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe sees things, James needs to be healthy if the Lakers have any hope of turning their season around. Given the fact that King James is currently in year 20, any injury, no matter how minor, is going to give him trouble.
After making note of James looking stiffer than usual, Sharpe began to question just what was going on. With an apparent lower-body injury, James has seemingly looked like a shell of his former self since the team's first game, according to Sharpe:
"Something is going on with LeBron and it's his lower extremities. I don't know if it's his hip, his knee, his ankle, his foot. It said he missed this game because of foot soreness. ... Skip, plus anybody that gets an injury in Year 20 is serious. LeBron is not 22 anymore. What we're starting to see is that the injuries are starting to pile up as we go."
The comments came during Tuesday morning's episode of "Skip and Shannon: Undisputed." You can watch the segment below, with Sharpe's comments beginning just 30 seconds into the video.
LeBron James' injury history since joining the Lakers
As Sharpe went on to point out, LeBron James is averaging a career low in field goal percentage and 3-point shooting. It was a pretty grim look for a player who looked like he was ready to go on a revenge tour during the team's season opener.
The latest injury marks the most recent in a long line of ailments that have plagued James since joining the Lakers in 2018. During his first year with the Lakers, James played in a career-low 55 games. The following season, when the Lakers won the championship, James appeared in 67 games.
Since then, he has continued to miss significant time. In the two seasons following the team's championship win, James played in just 45 games during the 2021 season and 56 games last season.
As it stands right now, the Lakers are just 2-8 and boast one of the worst records in the entire NBA. Ahead of just the Houston Rockets and the Orlando Magic, the Lakers' playoff hopes will quickly begin to evaporate if they can't get it together.
With Russell Westbrook now coming off the bench and playing like an All-Star caliber player once again, the onus will be on LeBron James to stay healthy. If he and Anthony Davis are able to remain healthy throughout the season, the team could make a late-season push to the playoffs.