“I’ll never be back to 100%”: LeBron James laments his ankle condition as Lakers lose to Sacramento Kings on his injury return

Few NBA players have mastered how to play mind games better than LeBron James. The Lakers star threw another curveball after their loss tonight.

The Sacramento Kings overcame the biggest home loss in their franchise history to register an improbable victory tonight. That it came against a full-strength Lakers team with LeBron James playing over 30 minutes makes it all the more sweeter.

The Kings were without De’Aaron Fox on the night, but they found consistent playmaking from their other guards. While Buddy Hield was terrible at shooting the ball tonight, he was facilitating his teammates just fine.

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Hield finished with a few dimes, but the Kings’ star on the night undoubtedly was Tyrese Haliburton. The rookie displayed extraordinary composure all through the game and notched up a monster 27 point, 10 assist double-double on the night.

LeBron James himself looked pretty good on the night. There were few signs, if any, that he’d sat out 6 whole weeks with a high ankle sprain. He only took 12 shots for 16 points, but his passing and rebounding were on point for the msot part.

There was some obvious rust in his game, but it was nothing like some egregiously bad nights that James often has had. But James’s propensity to play mind games and release pressure from himself has come to the fore in his post-game interview.

“I’ll never be back to 100%”: LeBron James

The Lakers star was a bit guarded in his post-game interview. This home loss to one of the worst teams in the league would undoubtedly have left LeBron smarting.

Nevertheless, he attempted to divert the issue from the Lakers’ late-game offense – they only tallied 18 points against statistically the worst defense in NBA history – to his own ankle.

“As far as my wind, I felt pretty good. As far as my ankle, it was a little tight at times… as the games go on that will continue to improve.”

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