LeBron James' Honest Statement on Absence After Lakers-Grizzlies

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James spoke about his absence after defeating the Grizzlies

Dec 15, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) reacts in the first half against the Memphis Grizzlies at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

After mysteriously missing two straight games due to personal reasons, Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James returned on Sunday night in a win against the Memphis Grizzlies.

James missed games against the Portland Trail Blazers and the Minnesota Timberwolves before facing off against his rival Grizzlies. In his return, James put up 18 points, 8 assists, and 8 rebounds on only 7/17 shooting from the field. After the game, James revealed that his not playing in the previous two games actually wasn't up to him.

"If it was up to just me, I probably would've played," James said. "It would've been hard to keep me away from it. I have a team and I got to listen to them as well. They look out for my best interest."

With the way that the schedule has shaped out, many NBA teams are only playing one or two games a week due to the NBA Cup. it's resulted in the team's having major breaks, and it sounds like the Lakers decided to take full advantage of that for LeBron by giving him a full break.

"I had an opportunity to take more days and get my mind, body and everything where I wanted it to be for tonight," James said. "And it worked out... A lot of rehabbing, a lot of training still to make sure that I was ready to go tonight. Didn't want to get too much out of shape."

For as much conspiracy as there seemed to be surrounding LeBron James' absence, it seems more likely that the Lakers just wanted him to have an extended break with the light schedule. Unfortunately for the Memphis Grizzlies, that break came at their expense.

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