LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James said he feels “pretty good” mentally and physically after his nine-day absence from the Los Angeles Lakers.

“I mean, honestly, it’s very rare that you get a break in the schedule like that,” James said after the Lakers’ 116-110 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday. “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.”

James scored 18 points (7-for-17 shooting, 3-for-6 3-point shooting), eight rebounds, eight assists, one steal, two blocks and five turnovers in 34 minutes. The Lakers improved to 14-12 and are tied for ninth place in the Western Conference.

James, 39, suffered a left foot injury during the Lakers’ 134-93 loss to the Miami Heat on Dec. 4. He almost missed the 134-132 overtime loss in Atlanta on Dec. 6, but was able to play through the pain. After the Lakers returned from their four-game road trip, James said he felt he would not be able to play in the Lakers’ next game, a home game against the Portland Trail Blazers on Dec. 8.

The 22-year-old veteran tried to complete his pregame workout before the Trail Blazers game and, along with his longtime coach Mike Mancias and the Lakers, decided he should take part in the contest. The group concluded that it would be best for James to miss the Lakers’ voluntary “get what you need” day on Tuesday and their practice on Wednesday before ultimately deciding that he should be allowed another one Game and almost an additional benefit would be week off.

“I had the opportunity to take more days and get my mind, body and everything where I wanted it to be for tonight,” James said. “And it worked.”

James, who said at the start of the season his goal was to play all 82 games, said he needed to be convinced of the plan.

“I don’t just listen to myself because if it was up to me I probably would have played in the Portland game and I’m not sure I would have played in the Minnesota game, but that would have been the case. “It was hard “To stop me,” James said. “I have a team and I have to listen to them too. They care about my well-being.”

When asked if one of the reasons he took time off was the mentally taxing nature of this season, James responded: Some of James’ metrics are the lowest since his rookie season, and the Lakers were 13-12 and 10th in the West entering Sunday’s game – James rejected the premise.

“No, it’s no different than any other year,” James said. “The season is always a matter of spirit – I mean, I know the word I want to use but I won’t use it, but you get the idea. Every year has its own challenges and this year is no different.”

James said he rehabilitated and trained away from the team because he “didn’t want to get too out of shape.”

He also spent his time away from the team watching his son Bronny play with the South Bay Lakers in the G League. Bronny has scored 62 points on 25-for-58 shooting (43.1 percent) in his last three games.

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“Just keep doing it, keep working,” James said of his message to his son. “At the end of the day, work always comes first. It’s just great to see him get back into the flow, get back to his game, get back to himself, just play freely and go out and just play the game that he loves and knows how to play. I loved his aggressiveness.”

James added that his left foot pain is an injury that has been bothering him for several years and that he needs to move forward with it. James missed the 2022-23 season with a right foot injury before becoming a guest at the “LeBron James of feet,” according to James at the time.

“Nah, it’s not behind me,” James said when asked if the fracture had healed his foot. “It’s an everyday thing. It took the last couple of years, but I was able to do a lot of great things to not only calm that down, but I got kneed in the quad by (Anthony Davis) in the Atlanta game at the end of regulation, that’s it again to 100 percent. 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.”

James is averaging 22.8 points, 8.0 rebounds, 9.1 assists on 49.2-36.5-74.3 shooting splits in 35.0 minutes per game. He appeared in 24 of Los Angeles’ 26 games.

Lakers coach JJ Redick said managing James’ workload will continue to be a collaboration between him and the Lakers, with Los Angeles considering using James in shorter bursts to keep him fresh longer in games.

“I think it requires communication and feedback from both sides,” Redick said. “Maybe it’s not sitting out the game, maybe it’s not necessarily what I told him the night before the game, not necessarily fewer minutes, but shorter runs so he doesn’t get exhausted, and then quicker segments the bank and then.” He’s back. Do you understand what I mean? So there are other options than just saying we’ll rest you and you’ll sit out the game.”

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(Photo: Kirby Lee / Imagn Images)