With the 2021-22 NBA season about to get underway, perhaps no one is more ready to start than Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James.
Last season, James was on a strong stretch, even without star partner Anthony Davis, until an ankle injury in late March derailed his season.
He missed 27 games but returned toward the end of the regular season, just in time for the playoffs. However, James disclosed after the Lakers’ elimination that his ankle never felt the same, which was evident with his lack of burst on the court.
But the early exit provided more time to rest for James. He explained how long it took for it to feel normal again.
“It took a while; it took a while. I didn’t do much basketball stuff for probably like the first two months of the summer, which is very rare for me because my ankle wasn’t really responding how I would like for it to respond,” James said after Monday’s practice. “And the best thing about the summertime is I had time. I had time to really just give it an opportunity to get ready when my ankle was ready to go.”
James explained what he did to get his ankle on the right track.
“I was always training, wasn’t on the basketball court but I was always doing other stuff, training, pushing, seeing things I could do with my ankle until I got to a point I didn’t feel any sharp pains anymore or my flexibility was back to where it was before,” James said. “That’s when I knew I could get back on the floor.”
With the regular season starting against the Golden State Warriors Tuesday, it’ll give James and company a fresh start with the stars healthy again. As long as James is out on the court, the Lakers will be a threat for the title.
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