Maybe Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is mortal, after all. If you assumed, like the rest of us, that James basically has otherworldly injury-recovery mechanisms built into his genetics, a new reveal from James himself will shock you: LeBron still feels the effects of a gruesome high ankle sprain he suffered more than five years ago during the 2020-21 NBA season.
In an extended interview with ESPN's Dave McMenamin that was unearthed for the first time on Wednesday, James admitted to McMenamin in December that he hasn't been the same since the freak injury on March 20, 2021, when Atlanta Hawks wing Solomon Hill crashed into LeBron's lower body while going after a loose ball.
"My foot and my ankle ain't been the same since," LeBron said. "Ever since that injury, I've been fighting uphill to get it back to normal. But it's been a little blah ever since."
LeBron James' ankle injury ruined 2020-21 Lakers season (and it still bothers him)
At the time of the injury, the Lakers were 28-13 and coming off a championship the year prior. LeBron was averaging 25.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 7.9 assists per game, well on his way to another MVP-type year for Los Angeles. Everything was trending towards repeat title contention, but James' injury messed all of that up. He missed 26 of 28 games following the injury (including 20 in a row), and the Lakers went 12-16 in that stretch.
LA finished the COVID-shortened, 72-game season with a 42-30 record, pushing them all the way down to the No. 7 seed in the West due to tiebreakers. They were able to overcome the Golden State Warriors in the Play-In, but lost to the Phoenix Suns in the first round. Los Angeles was actually up 2-1 in the Phoenix series, but Anthony Davis strained his groin in Game 4. The Lakers ended up losing in six, marking the first time LeBron had ever lost in the first round.
Mirroring a segment of the Lakers' fanbase that has always theorized about LeBron's injury dooming an entire season (and perhaps the rest of the LeBron-AD era), James told McMenamin that he still feels like the 2020-21 season -- and LA's repeat hopes -- fell apart right when Hill fell into his ankle.
"(I wonder) what could have been, for sure," James said. "I was playing some of the best basketball of my career up until that point and leading this franchise in the right direction and then something like that happens, a high ankle sprain, and there's nothing you can do about that."
Lakers are dealing with season-altering injuries yet again in 2026
A discussion of that Lakers season -- and the injuries that ruined it -- feels pertinent these days. Once again, a LeBron James Lakers season is in danger of being remembered for the injuries that derailed it. This time around, it's not LeBron who is injured; he's playing the role of stabilizing force while Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic battle against the rehab clock.
A win on Wednesday night for the Lakers would at least guarantee that LeBron doesn't experience another first-round exit, as he did in 2021. James has a new cast of characters now to help him avoid that fate, most notably in the form of head coach JJ Redick.
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