Los Angeles Lakers fans held their collective breath on Friday when LeBron James hurt his hand during Friday’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans.
James tried to block a Jose Alvarado layup attempt midway through the first quarter at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, Calif. As LeBron rose up to try to pin the layup off the backboard, his right thumb got caught on the rim.
You can see the slow-motion replay of the incident below.
LeBron’s thumb on his shooting hand gets caught on the rim 😬 (via @NBA) pic.twitter.com/c1yMkdY1n2
— Basketball Forever (@bballforever_) April 5, 2025
Los Angeles called a timeout shortly afterward to get James out of the ballgame. Fortunately for Lakers fans, James’ thumb issue ended up being relatively minor. The team’s training staff taped up James’ thumb and he was eventually able to re-enter the contest later in the first quarter.
LeBron needs to get his thumb wrapped after getting it stuck at the rim trying to block a shot pic.twitter.com/Hj9Nmkx2Z1
— LakeShow Highlights (@LSH_lakeshow) April 5, 2025
James looked like his usual self once he checked back into the ballgame. He tallied 13 points, 5 assists, and 2 steals before halftime as his Lakers led 62-53.
LeBron has stayed relatively healthy in his age-40 season, missing just 11 of his team’s first 76 games. He gave fans another scare when he suffered a groin injury during a March 8 contest against the Boston Celtics. But James was able to return after a seven-game absence.
With homecourt advantage up for grabs to close the season, James will likely do all he can to be available for his team’s final five games.
