#LeBron James tweaks ankle injury before NBA playoffs

The defending champion Lakers didn’t expect to be fighting for their playoff lives in the play-in tournament, but LeBron James and Anthony Davis both missed a significant chunk of the season, knocking Los Angeles down to the seventh seed.

Things were starting to get back to normal for the Lakers, as James had returned from his ankle injury and was playing well. But in the fourth quarter of their season finale against the Pelicans, James landed awkwardly on that same ankle going up for a layup.

The four-time NBA champion would leave the game and not return – though both he and head coach Frank Vogel insisted it was nothing serious.

“It was a tweak,” James said. “I stepped on [Nickeil] Alexander-[Walker]’s foot on the way down after that last layup, but I’ll be fine.”

James has played four games since originally suffering a high-ankle sprain on March 20. He missed 20 games before returning for matchups against the Kings and Raptors, then missed six more games when he aggravated the injury.

The Pelicans game was his second game back after the six-game absence. He had logged 25 points and six assists before going down with the injury.