Lakers forward LeBron Jameswho stated at the start of the 2024/25 season that he hoped to play all 82 games, had to be convinced last Sunday and Friday to forgo competitions to treat quadriceps and foot injuries, he said in his media session the game on Sunday after he returned to action and helped Los Angeles defeat Memphis.

“If it was only up to me, I probably would have played” James said, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “It would have been hard to stop me. I have a team and I have to listen to them too. They care about my well-being.”

Due to the unusual nature of the NBA schedule during the knockout rounds of the regular-season tournament, James was able to get nine days off while only missing two games. He told reporters on Sunday that it made sense to take advantage of this golden opportunity to take a break during the season in hopes of coming back stronger than before.

“I mean, honestly, it’s very rare that you can get a break in your schedule like that.” James said, according to Jovan Buha of The Athletic. “So it was a very easy decision for me, the team and my coach to be able to use these days for everything. So, it was great. … I had the opportunity to take more days and get my mind, body and everything where I wanted it to be for tonight. And it worked.”

While Buha continues, the nine-day break allowed James to heal from a minor quadriceps injury suffered on Dec. 6, although the four-time MVP expects to continue dealing with his sore left foot going forward.

“It’s not behind me.” James said about his foot problem. “It’s an everyday thing. It’s taken the last few years, but I’ve been able to do a lot of great things to not only calm this down, but I got kneed in the quad in the game against Atlanta at the end of regulation time (Anthony Davis), that’s now 100 percent again. It was probably pretty sore three days ago. But I can get it back to 100 (percent), which was great, so I was able to hit a lot of other elements as well.”

Here’s more about LeBron and the Lakers:

• Speaking to reporters including head coach Buha JJ Redick said on Sunday that he would consider various ways to manage James’ workload during games to keep him fresh and reduce the need for him to sit out entire competitions. “Maybe it’s not necessarily fewer minutes, but shorter runs so he doesn’t get exhausted, and then faster sections on the bench, and then he’s back at it.” Redick said. “You know what I mean? So there are other options than just saying we’ll rest you and you’ll sit out the game.”
• With James, Davis and Austin Reaves With everyone available for the first time since Nov. 29, Redick tried out a new starting lineup Sunday that included that trio Max Christie And Rui Hachimura. The group played together for 20 minutes and outscored Memphis by three points during their time on the court. After the game, Redick explained that starting Christie over wasn’t an easy decision Gabe VincentBut he likes the way Christie’s size and athleticism fits into the starting lineup and sees it as a good opportunity for the 21-year-old’s development (Twitter link via Buha).
• Christie didn’t do much offensively on Sunday, with seven points on 1-of-3 shooting in 29 minutes, but he played a key role in retaining the Grizzlies’ star Yes Morant to 6 of 21 shots with seven turnovers, notes McMenamin. “My main job tonight was Ja Morant, so I was just focused on making it as difficult for him as possible.” Christie said. “And I thought I did a pretty good job of that tonight.”
• The Lakers survived two injury woes on Sunday, as Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times writes. Davis went to the locker room after injuring his left shoulder in the third quarter, while Reaves suffered a hit Zach Edey Elbow to the face that left him bleeding in the fourth quarter. However, Davis was able to return and Reaves remained in the game, with both players helping the club achieve victory.