LeBron James addressed the possibility of his role changing for the Los Angeles Lakers following Luka Doncic’s left hamstring injury during Thursday night’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on April 3. The Lakers lost by 43 points, and Doncic left in the third quarter with what appeared to be a significant injury.
The extent of Doncic’s absence is still uncertain, as he was scheduled to undergo an MRI on Friday. James said he will be among those expected to help keep the team together if Doncic is sidelined. “Nothing has changed,” James said on Spectrum SportsNet. “We’ll obviously be tested with the head of the snake out. Don’t want to make conclusions, but we’ll see what happens with him and then we’ll go from there. But nothing is rattled. It’s one game, part of the NBA season. It’s the defending champions, we get it, we understand.”
James acknowledged that everyone would need to adjust their roles if Doncic cannot play but said no specific conversations have taken place yet about how his responsibilities might change. “I don’t know what role will be asked of me. I don’t know. We’ll have to see what that role will be,” he said. “I’ve been in this one for a minute now, so it will be an adjustment. So we’ll see.”
He also stressed that health remains a top priority for the team as they prepare for postseason play and noted that Marcus Smart is currently out as well: “There’s never a time to get comfortable in this league. The only thing we do know is we won’t be in the Play-In, so we have that week. But health is wealth, obviously. We’re already without Marcus right now, and now Luka, we don’t know what the timetable is obviously. But we’ll see what happens.”
The Lakers are awaiting further updates regarding Doncic’s MRI results while also preparing for Marcus Smart’s return after missing six games due to injury.
The outcome of these injuries could impact Los Angeles’ ability to contend this season as they approach playoff competition.
