by Greg Dudek 6 hours ago
Injury during a show event is the worst-case scenario for any player, and that’s exactly what happened to Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James at Sunday night’s NBA All-Star Game.
The NBA announced that James would not be returning for the second half after a bruised right hand.
The 19-time All-Star contracted the illness while trying to block a first-half layup attempt by Pascal Siakam. As James rose to parry the shot, his ring and pink finger caught the rim awkwardly.
It only seemed like a precaution for James to leave, but his hand probably didn’t feel good either. Lakers fans will most likely be able to breathe a sigh of relief as James was credited for breaking the NBA’s all-time record at the end of the half alongside Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone.
James played 14 minutes of the exhibition event, scoring 13 points in 6-for-11 shooting and also giving out four assists.
With the departure of James, the two captains of the respective teams no longer played in the tent competition. Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, who slipped up on his team selection before the game, only played two minutes after spraining his wrist in Thursday’s win against the Chicago Bulls.
