Could this be the beginning of the end for LeBron James?
The Los Angeles Lakers star returned to the court for the first time in six weeks on Friday against the Sacramento Kings, but the latest injury took a toll on 36-year-old that he had not quite experienced before.
While James said he felt “OK” after 32 minutes of action on Friday, he admitted that he still felt a little tightness and then acknowledged that he may never be 100% healthy again after this injury.
“I knew I wasn’t going to get back to 100 percent. It’s impossible,” he said, per ESPN. “I don’t think I will ever get back to 100 percent in my career.”
James said he was working relentlessly to get back to the Lakers, who have slipped into a tie for sixth place in the Western Conference with the Dallas Mavericks as of Sunday morning.
“It’s been urgency for me to get back ever since I got injured,” he said. “That’s just who I am. You guys could have seen the logging of the minutes and hours per day that I was doing as far as rehab and treatment, it was a lot more than I slept. … It was horrible, honestly, for me. I was more stressful than I’ve ever been. But I’m happy I’m playing now, so a little stress relief.”
James signed a two-year extension with the Lakers prior to the season, which keeps him under contract through the 2022-23 season — when he will be 38 years old.
How James’ body holds up over the next two years could go a long way into just how much more time he has left in the NBA.
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