LeBron James’ ankle injury could not have come at a worse time, both for the Los Angeles Lakers and for James personally.
Reddit user tirednewyorker pointed out something interesting this week about James’ pursuit of the NBA scoring title. James, who currently leads the league with 30.1 points a game, needs to play at least 70 percent of his team’s games to be eligible for the scoring crown, per NBA requirements. That equals to at least 58 games played in an 82-game season.
The Lakers have seven games remaining in the regular season, and James has played 55 games, having also missed time earlier on with a knee injury and other ailments. That means that James will not be eligible to win the scoring title if he does not play in at least three of the Lakers’ remaining games. He has already been ruled out for Thursday’s game against the Utah Jazz and recently made some concerning comments about his ankle injury.
For the time being, James maintains a narrow lead over Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid (29.9 points per game) and Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo (29.7 points per game). While James already won a scoring title in 2008, winning one in 2022 would make him the oldest player to ever do so. We know that James is hyper-concerned with his individual achievements, as we have seen several infamous examples of just this season alone. As such, the timing of James’ ankle sprain really has to be ticking him off right now.
Photo: Jan 21, 2022; Orlando, Florida, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (6) against the Orlando Magic during the first quarter at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
