National Basketball Association

Could LeBron James' latest injury doom the already sinking Lakers?

Published Feb. 2, 2022 10:27 a.m. ET

The 2021-22 season has been a struggle for the Los Angeles Lakers thus far, and it's threatening to get even worse.

Currently sitting at ninth in the Western Conference standings, the Lakers (24-27) are facing the stark possibility of being without LeBron James for an extended period of time.

James has already missed the Lakers' previous two games against the Hornets and Hawks — both losses — and is now possibly set to miss even more games due to left knee irritation.

MRI tests on the knee showed no structural damage, but with swelling persistent, the team is benching James out of precaution.

This could spell doom for the Lakers, who are 5-10 on the season without James, who is currently tied for second in the NBA in scoring (29.1 PPG).

Perhaps more alarming for the Lakers, this continues a trend of James missing dozens of games since signing with the Lakers in 2018.

He has missed 73 of the possible 276 games played since joining L.A., missing at least 15 in three of the four seasons he has played with the franchise.

The 2019-20 season was the only one in which he missed fewer than 10 games. That was the season the Lakers won the NBA Finals in a COVID-shortened season.

Chris Broussard believes this latest injury is a sign of Father Time catching up with the athlete who has played the third-most minutes in NBA history.

"This is a big deal, nonetheless, because this is age. This is Father Time knocking on LeBron's door," Broussard proclaimed on "First Things First."

Father time is knocking on LeBron James' door

Chris Broussard talks LeBron James after reports that the Los Angeles Lakers star will be sitting out due to discomfort in his knee.

However, Nick Wright doesn't believe this is too worrisome for the Lakers.

"Two things usually happen when father time is approaching you," Wright said. "One, is the increased injury rate, we are seeing that. The other is you're not as good. LeBron is scoring at the best rate he has scored at, maybe in his career, certainly in the last 10 years."

Nick Wright: Lakers have bigger problems than LeBron's knee

LeBron James will be sitting out from Lakers' games until the swelling in his knee goes down.

James' 29.1 PPG average is his highest scoring average since the 2009-10 season (29.7), so if the Lakers lose that for an extended period of time, it could get dicey for an already struggling squad.