Lakers Injury Report: Darvin Ham Hints All-Star May Miss Wizards Bout

Will we see LBJ tonight?

Despite being 39 years old and the NBA's oldest player, LeBron James wanted to remind everyone Wednesday night that he's still an alpha player in this league. 

Down by 21 points to the LA Clippers early in the game's fourth quarter, James engineered a furious comeback, singlehandedly outscoring the Clippers 19-16 in the frame as the Lakers took down their Pacific Division rival by a final score of 116-112. 

LeBron finished the game with 34 points on 13-of-21 from the field and 7-of-12 from three-point range. He added eight assists, six rebounds, and two blocks for good measure. 

Darvin Ham said LeBron James is playing tonight but wouldn’t clarify whether he will play tomorrow vs. Washington.

— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) February 29, 2024

Before the game, LA head coach Darvin Ham did confirm James was going to be available. However, in the postgame presser, it didn't appear as if Ham would commit to James playing Thursday evening at home versus the lowly Washington Wizards. 

Even though every game on the schedule remaining is precious for the Lakers, Washington will enter the game with an abysmal 9-49 record. The Wizards are tied with Detroit for the worst record in the entire NBA. 

Darvin Ham responded "we'll see" when asked about LeBron James' status for tomorrow vs. the Wizards.

— Khobi Price (@khobi_price) February 29, 2024

The Lakers could look at this as an opportunity to get James some rest for the upcoming stretch run. There won't be many chances for this to happen with the Lakers fighting for a playoff spot. 

It would be a calculated gamble not to play James. However, based on the form of D'Angelo Russell and Anthony Davis, losing at home to the Wizards -- even without James -- would be disastrous. 

The Lakers are currently 32-28 and occupy the No. 9 seed in the Western Conference. They are 3.0 games behind the New Orleans Pelicans for the No. 6 seed. They can probably beat the Wizards with or without LBJ.