LeBron James made a strong return to the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night, helping them secure a 116-110 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies after missing two games.
Battling a left foot injury and dealing with personal matters, James had been absent from the team for most of last week, sitting out Sunday’s game against Portland and Friday’s matchup at Minnesota.
The Lakers confirmed just 45 minutes before tipoff against Memphis that James’ status had been upgraded from questionable to available.
In 34 minutes of play, James recorded 18 points, eight rebounds, eight assists, and five turnovers.
“I felt pretty good,” James said. “It’s very rare throughout the course of the season where you can take advantage of the schedule, and I was able to do that the past week.”
The Lakers described James’ time away as an excused absence while noting that he was also managing some left foot pain. Lakers coach JJ Redick revealed before the Memphis game that he and the four-time NBA MVP met on the day of the Portland game to discuss his plan for a break.
“When I talked to him earlier this week, I think I said something along those lines, just hoping that he was getting a good mind and body reset,” Redick said in his pregame availability Sunday. “He said he felt like he was.”
James, the NBA’s oldest player, turns 40 on Dec. 30. Including playoffs, no player in league history has appeared in more games or played more minutes than James, who is in his 22nd season, tying Vince Carter for the NBA record.
“I felt my foot, felt my body. I did my pregame workout on that Sunday for the Portland game and decided it was probably best if I took that day off,” James said. “I had the opportunity to take more days and get my mind, body, and just everything where I wanted to be for tonight, and it worked out.”
Redick indicated that he would appreciate it if James felt the need for a few days off.
“I played 15 years and was emotionally, mentally, and physically drained, fried,” Redick said. “I put everything I had into this game. I had nothing left. For guys like him and (Chris Paul), the Tom Bradys of the world, the Roger Federers of the world, it’s hard to comprehend having that level of sustained excellence for so long because of the toll that it takes on all of you, not just your body.”
James said he spent most of his time away rehabbing his foot and training to stay in game shape.
“It was a very easy decision for myself and for the team and for my trainer to be able to take advantage of those days, just for everything,” James said. “It was great.”
James is averaging 23 points, 9.1 assists, and eight rebounds this season. He also has seven triple-doubles, second-most in the NBA behind Denver’s Nikola Jokic.