Lakers Bench LeBron James For Remainder of Season
Lakers Bench LeBron James For Remainder of Season
The Los Angeles Lakers will wave their white flags for the season as they announced the team plans to bench 3-time NBA Champion, LeBron James. The superstar forward will be held out of the Los Angeles Lakers’ final six games of the season to aid in the recovery of his strained groin, the team announced Saturday. Lakers Predsident Ervin “Magic” Johnson, made a statement on benching LeBron. Magic Says,
“After consulting with our team doctors and medical staff, we have decided to hold LeBron out of games for the remainder of the season. This decision will allow his groin to fully heal, and is best for the future success of both LeBron and the Lakers.”
The Lakers are currently 34-42, 11th in the West which eliminates their chances of a playoff birth.
James, 34, told reporters earlier this month that he had no plans to shut down for the remainder of the season, even though the Lakers’ hopes of a playoff spot were dim at the time. James tells ESPN.
“That would take a lot of convincing from Luke [Walton] on up. Unless I’m hurt, I’m not sitting games.
James continues speaking about being injured.
“You’ve got to understand I’ve never been injured before like that. The most I’ve ever sat out was two weeks, I broke my wrist back in high school as a junior. I didn’t come here to sit on the bench, I love clothes, I love suits but I didn’t come here to put on a suit every day. I came here to put on a jersey and some shorts. That’s what I came here to do and lead a team the best way I know how so that’s the frustration part when you see your team struggle. You know how much you can help them but you can’t do anything in a suit and tie so you know that’s where the negativity starts to creep into the mind.”
James suffered a slight tear in his left groin on Christmas Day against the Golden State Warriors. The injury caused James to miss 17 straight games. The injury is the most significant one of James’ 16-year career in the NBA.
As previously reported, James will have more time to his business off the court. The 4-time NBA MVP helped actress Octavia Spencer secure a bag during the Sundance Film Festival. Spencer shared James helped her achieve fair compensation for their upcoming Netflix series about Madam C.J. Walker.
I have to say, when I was negotiating my deal for ‘Madam C.J.,’ LeBron James had to intervene. So we need all our male counterparts to be in the fight with us.
LeBron plans to continue to accompany the team on its final road trip of the season through New Orleans and Oklahoma City.
Do you think it’s a good move to bench LeBron for the remainder of the season? Let us know in the comments!