Lakers News: LeBron James' Friends And Foes Weigh In On His Latest Injury

The LA great is dealing with a right foot tendon ailment.

Los Angeles Lakers All-Star small forward LeBron James has missed LA's last five games and is out for the next two weeks at least with a right foot tendon injury.

An old foe, former Boston Celtics great Paul Pierce (who faced off against James' Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat teams in several memorable playoff battles -- including during his brief stint with the Brooklyn Nets), and former (technically) Laker teammate, DeMarcus Cousins, joined Rachel Nichols for her What's Burnin' Showtime podcast panel recently.

"Look, I know LeBron's injury was a heartbreak moment for a lot of Lakers fans, but the man is 38 years old," Nichols said. "And while he is clearly still near the top of his game, setting records, 38-year-olds are not as durable as 28-year-olds. I want to throw you guys some numbers. Over LeBron's first 15 seasons, he missed 71 games total. In the last five seasons with the Lakers, he's missed 98 games and counting of course [the number will stand at 104 after tonight's Raptors game]."

"It's a reality check for sure," Cousins, still just 32 but now out of the league, said of the moment his body started to break down with injuries more consistently. "You can go through consistently for years and kind of develop this mindset that you're invincible until you've experienced that first heartbreak... But that's still separate from the guy we're talking about, he's the prime example of longevity and I mean with all greatness, it comes to an end eventually."

Cousins of course has some history with the James-era Lakers. He joined the 2019-20 team as a free agent, only to suffer a season-ending ACL tear in a preseason pickup game. Los Angeles still gave him a championship ring, even though the team waived him to sign Markieff Morris for its stretch run.

He actually also tried out for a possible 10-day contract with the Lakers earlier this season, though he went unsigned.

"Yeah I mean it's tough at that age," Pierce, who retired at 39, noted. "I remember at 38 it was just tough for me getting out of bed. I used to have to put shoes on just to go to the bathroom... My feet hurt [from] that plantar fasciitis."

"It was the same way for me with my Achilles," Cousins weighed in. "I had to wear sneakers in the home. My feet were too sensitive to the floor."

"We have this image of LeBron as indestructible," Nichols said. "I think you have to be realistic about how many games LeBron can play a season now, right? It is what it is."

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