Lakers' LeBron James Admits Injured Ankle "Feels Horrible"

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James revealed post-game that the ankle he tweaked in the second quarter of their 116-108 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans felt "horrible," per Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

New story: LeBron James said his ankle felt “horrible” postgame Sunday and his availability is in question as L.A. continues its crucial stretch Tuesday in Dallas https://t.co/tqw4kyqCXp
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) March 28, 2022

James rolled his left ankle on Pelicans center Jaxson Hayes’ foot while going for a rebound early in the period.

While speaking to reporters during the post-game press conference, James said his ankle was “pretty sore.” He noted he lacked explosiveness after that point of the contest.

Nonetheless, the Lakers forward did stay in the game and wound up playing 42 minutes.

He finished with 39 points, nine rebounds, and five assists on 14-of-27 shooting from the field to go along with seven 3-pointers.

That was a crucial loss for Los Angeles (31-43) as it dropped them to 10th in the Western Conference standings. Meanwhile, New Orleans (32-43) jumped over to 9th with the gutsy come-from-behind win.

There is a possibility that James could miss time depending on how his ankle acts up.

The injury could not come at a worse time for the Lakers, who are also missing All-Star big man Anthony Davis.

With eight games remaining on the schedule, the Lakers are barely clinging to the 10th seed and the final spot in the play-in tournament.

The 11th seeded San Antonio Spurs (30-44) are right on their coattails, just one game behind Los Angeles in the standings.

The Lakers take on the Dallas Mavericks next on Tuesday and face this same Pelicans team in Los Angeles this Friday.