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The Injury Update for LeBron James Destroys the Selfish
It goes without saying that the season of the Los Angeles Lakers did not go as planned. Russell Westbrook struggled to find his footing in Hollywood, Anthony Davis missed significant time, and LeBron James battled lingering injuries.
As one might guess, the conclusion sparked a flurry of heated opinions, many of which targeted King James himself.
One of those stories was about James’ “stat-padding.”
With the Lakers out of playoff contention, some in the media began to say that LeBron’s spectacular individual season was nothing more than a selfish attempt to get something out of the season.
If he couldn’t win the championship, he could at least show how good he was as an individual.
But, if the star’s latest statements are any indication, that myth has been shattered.
LeBron James admitted that he did not consider playing in the season’s final few games
Coming down the stretch of the season, the most prominent lingering Lakers narrative was LeBron James vying for the scoring title.
While some expected him to play through his ankle injury and earn a spot in the record books, he did not return to the lineup, giving Joel Embiid the title.
From a distance, that appeared startling.
Pro athletes are well-known competitors who are known to push through discomfort to fuel their inner fire.
However, based on his statements on Monday, April 11, James’ absence seemed to make sense.
“There will be no surgery or injections, but I will have to stay off [the damaged ankle] for 4-6 weeks to allow it to heal,” he said to Lakers beat reporter Mike Trudell.
The greedy, stat-padding narrative was likewise dealt a fatal blow by James.
“Due to his ankle ailment, LeBron indicated he had no intention of returning to play only to qualify for the scoring title.”
“If he’d been healthy, he’d have played,” Trudell said in another tweet, including a quotation from James: “I’m not out there simply to play meaningless games to win the scoring championship.”
That comment calls into question the entire stat-padding premise
While there are other tweets accusing LeBron James of inflating his stats, let’s focus on one specific case.
“LeBron James, in Year 19, has already played 36 minutes tonight but is still in the game, down by 22 with 5:08 left, to stat-pad with easy garbage-time buckets as he chases Kareem’s all-time scoring record,” Skip Bayless wrote in late February.
According to the box score, James played 36 minutes and scored 32 points on 13-of-23 shooting in a 123-95 loss against the New Orleans Pelicans.
While you could argue that he shouldn’t have played, consider the opposing points.
Assume James sits on the bench as the Lakers lose. It’s safe to say that if he sat out the fourth quarter, he’d be chastised for leaving his teammates hanging.
The Lakers’ second-leading scorer had 16 points that night.
This leads us back to James’ statements and his assertion that he would not play just for the sake of winning the scoring title.
While his response should be sufficient to quell any narratives, one could argue that he is simply playing the public relations game.
I’d recommend a different reading through that lens.
Regardless of how you feel about the NBA veteran, he isn’t blind to the facts of the game.
James has been in the spotlight since he was a teenager; he understands how stories develop and where his detractors will sharpen their knives.
Putting his long-term health at risk for a (relatively) meaningless scoring title would be the ultimate selfish decision.
In any meaningful statistic, this would not have moved him past Michael Jordan. It would only have made the score 10-2.
Imagine the reaction on social media if he won the scoring title only to be forced to retire due to a catastrophic ankle injury.
Also, read Giancarlo Stanton, Matthew Christopher Schnell, John Daly’s Married Life:
Twitter’s servers would most likely overheat in a matter of minutes.
Furthermore, you may claim that the forward has enough basketball experience to recognize individual successes.
It’s telling that he dubbed the games “meaningless.” We’ve all seen young players go all-out to create an impression on the league.
James has progressed beyond that point.
At the risk of getting into his thoughts, he presumably knows that missing out on a scoring title is less painful than perhaps jeopardizing his championship hopes.
That is not to imply that LeBron James is a perfect player.
There are several problems, both great and minor, that might be pointed out.
Stat-padding during the 2021-22 season, on the other hand, was most likely not one of them.
