Los Angeles Lakers coach Darvin Ham said Thursday that LeBron James avoided a serious groin injury in Wednesday’s 114-101 loss to the LA Clippers and is considered day-to-day.
Ham says the MRI results showed that James has a strained left adductor, and that “there wasn’t anything torn.”
James limped off the court with 5 minutes, 41 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of Wednesday’s game and was grabbing his groin area. He is officially listed as doubtful for Friday’s game against the Sacramento Kings.
James said after the game that the injury wasn’t as significant as his groin strain on Christmas 2018 during his first season with the Lakers. That injury sidelined him for a month.
James is the Lakers’ leading scorer with 24.9 points per game despite persistent pain in his left foot that forced him to miss Los Angeles’ loss to Utah on Monday. James is also contributing 8.8 rebounds and 6.9 assists per game in his 20th NBA season.
Despite James’ strong play, the Lakers have the NBA’s second-worst record at 2-9.
ESPN’s Dave McMenamin and The Associated Press contributed to this report.