LeBron James Clears NBA's Health, Safety Protocols After Negative COVID-19 Tests

The four-time NBA champion will play against the Clippers on Friday after a series of tests cleared him.

Lakers star LeBron James has been cleared from the NBA's health and safety protocols after two negative COVID-19 tests. He will play in Friday's game against the Clippers, the league announced on Thursday.

Since James's return to Los Angeles from Sacramento on Tuesday, he recorded eight negative tests. According to ESPN's Dave McMenamin, his test in Sacramento was a false positive. 

The following was released by the NBA pic.twitter.com/Ct60rHwLLv

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) December 2, 2021

According to the league's statement, James was initially placed in the league's health and safety protocols on Nov. 30 after a series of tests delivered conflicting results. This included an initial positive test was collected on Nov. 29.

After tests were confirmed that James was not positive—per the league's rules and protocols from the '19–20 season restart in Orlando—the "sample that produced the initial positive test was re-run twice and returned one negative and one positive result on two different PCR instruments," the league said in a statement.

James, as a result, "underwent additional testing on November 30, with one test returning a negative result and a second test resulting in a clinically inconclusive result."

The four-time NBA champion has averaged 25.8 points, 5.2 total rebounds and 6.8 assists this season. Without James, the Lakers defeated the Kings 117–92 on Tuesday.