After being selected to start in the NBA All-Star Game for a record-breaking 21 consecutive seasons, LeBron missed his first All-Star game on Sunday evening due to ankle/foot discomfort. The news came just hours before the All-Star game when LeBron announced to the world that he would not be a participant during his pre-game media availability.
LeBron's All-Star media availability
"You won't see anything from me tonight," James said. "Unfortunately, I will not be in uniform tonight. Still dealing with ankle and foot discomfort."
Dave McMenamin of ESPN later asked LeBron if he believed he would be ready to play on Wednesday night versus the Charlotte Hornets and if the decision to rest was a maintenance wear and tear situation.
"It's a little bit of both. I was hoping that it would feel a lot better this morning," James added. "But it's not where I wanted it to be. With 30 games left and us trying to make a playoff push in the wild wild west, I feel like it's very important for me to kind of take care of myself and understand what's coming on."
After acquiring a 25-year-old Luka Doncic, who theoretically should be entering his prime, LeBron and the Lakers have their eyes on making a championship push this season. James was asked if playing alongside Doncic would affect how much longer he would continue to play before retiring.
"I have not given it that type of thought," James said. "Just the excitement of being able to add a caliber player like that, a generational talent like that, to our franchise, it's something that's given me energy. I'm looking forward to seeing what we can do."
Lakers continue to acquire talent
Lakers Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Rob Pelinka pushed all his chips to the middle of the table to acquire Doncic at the deadline to maximize LeBron's chances of competing for a title this season.
We've seen the Lakers front office this season continue to be aggressive on the trade block, the buyout market, and doing everything in their willpower to bolster their roster. In late December, the Lakers acquired guard Shake Milton and forward Dorian Finney-Smith from the Brooklyn Nets to add more depth.
After the trade for Hornets center Mark Williams was rescinded, the Lakers acquired center Alex Len from the buyout market to fill that void. Then, one of the biggest boosts to the team was getting back forward Jarred Vanderbilt, who made his season debut back on Jan. 25 after having procedures done on both of his feet in the offseason.
LeBron and Luka aim for deep postseason run
The All-Star break came at a perfect time for LeBron and the Lakers as a whole. Doncic was able to appear in limited minutes in his first two games as a Laker, just 24 and 23 minutes, and will now have the week off to rest and ramp back up to 'game speed.'
The Lakers, who are currently the fifth seed in the West, just three games back of the number two seed, understand that getting their two superstars fully healthy is the most important priority. LeBron and Luka themselves know better than anyone that this is a marathon, not a sprint. With 30 games remaining, the Lakers currently have the fifth-hardest strength of schedule (.532) in the NBA after the All-Star break.
LeBron's goals at this point of his career aren't and shouldn't be centered around All-Star weekend. James, of course, was hopeful he could participate and give the fans what they wanted. At the end of the day, LeBron understands the long-term goal of getting healthy and giving his team the best shot at potentially bringing another championship back to the city of Los Angeles.
Both Luka and LeBron were able to get their much-needed rest during All-Star weekend as they continued to get rehab and get healthy. The Lakers will now have to continue to find ways to bring this roster together with a ton of new pieces, as LeBron will now aim for a deep postseason run in year 22.