Lakers Upgrade LeBron James to Doubtful for Sunday’s Game vs. Bulls

Los Angeles appears on the verge of getting its star player back on the court.
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For the first time in over a month, LeBron James’s impending return from injury appears to be in sight. 

The Lakers announced Saturday that James, who hasn’t played since Feb. 26 due to a right foot injury, has been upgraded to “doubtful” for Sunday’s game against the Bulls. The 38-year-old was previously listed as “out” for the contest.

Though the update may not mean that James will be on the court at Crypto.com Arena for an important game against Chicago, the status change seems to indicate that the star forward is on the verge of a return.

Earlier this week, The Athletic reported that James had begun on-court activity with the hope of returning to the lineup for the final few games of the regular season. James, who was averaging 29.5 points, 8.4 rebounds and 6.9 assists per game before the injury, refuted the report about his return timeline but did not offer up any other specifics of his own on the plan for him to get back on the court.

The Lakers (37–37) have eight games remaining and are currently in possession of the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference headed into Sunday’s home tilt against the Bulls.


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Zach Koons
ZACH KOONS

Zach Koons is a programming editor at Sports Illustrated who frequently writes about Formula One. He joined SI as a breaking/trending news writer in February 2022 before joining the programming team in 2023. Koons previously worked at The Spun and interned for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He currently hosts the "Bleav in Northwestern" podcast and received a bachelor's in journalism from Northwestern University.