Turns Out, LeBron James Wasn’t Faking All of His Injuries vs Timberwolves

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LeBron James - NBA Playoffs - Minnesota Timberwolves at Los Angeles Lakers
Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Timberwolves are fresh off a 4-1 series victory against the Los Angeles Lakers, where Chris Finch & Co exploited their talent advantage all over the court, and on the side of it.

No matter what they did, LeBron James, Luka Doncic and JJ Redick had no answer for Anthony Edwards and his 2025 Timberwolves. That included working the refs… but that didn’t stop the Lakers from begging for calls all series long.

Early and often, both LA stars were sprawled out on the floor OR limping around holding a body part like it’s on the verge of falling off OR (my personal favorite) standing in shock with arms up in the air as if they just witnessed a murder.

LeBron James wasn’t faking injury vs Minnesota Timberwolves?

That brings us to late in game five, when LeBron James — who was on defense — floated towards the the top of the key where suddenly collided Donte DiVincenzo, who was on his way across the court to set a zone screen for Julius Randle, spotting up from three.

As he usually does, James went down in a heap, where he laid on the ground for minutes, as though his soul had just been snatched from his body. For most of us, it was just LeBron being LeBron. But apparently, he did sprain his MCL on the play.

“James, who has played in an NBA-record 292 playoff games without missing one because of injury, assuredly would have had that streak snapped if L.A. were playing Game 6 in Minneapolis on Friday night.”

Dave McMenamin – ESPN

Per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, LeBron James’ MRI revealed a Grade 2 MCL sprain, stemming from his collision with DiVincenzo. That sort of injury generally requires 3-5 weeks to fully heal. With the Lakers eliminated from the playoffs, LeBron will have all the time he needs to get that knee back to full strength.

Related: MN Timberwolves President Pushes Back Against Rumors

James finished the final 7:23 of game five, but according to McMenamin, his record 292-straight playoff games streak would have been snapped, had the Los Angeles Lakers forced a game 6 vs the Minnesota Timberwolves.

It’s unfortunate that James suffered an injury on the play. However, he has so often made it a question as to whether or not he is actually hurt, that even his teammates continued to play on around him after the MCL sprain we discussing.

LeBron shouldn’t be surprised that nobody thought he was actually hurt on the play (including his own teammates). Hell, the NBA created rules against flopping because players like James and others have exploited the tendencies of referees to call fouls for veteran superstars.

Timberwolves had Luka Doncic begging for sympathy too

While James actually suffered an injury, there was none to be reported for Luka Doncic. He went to the locker room briefly in game five, and announcers suggested a back injury akin to someone needing a wheelchair. Like LeBron, it’s difficult to evaluate while you’re always embellishing something.

Former Minnesota Timberwolves guard Patrick Beverly didn’t hold back on calling out Doncic. The talented scorer still finished with a team-high 28 points on 7-of-18 shooting. He probably was hurting a bit, but his ego may have been the greatest problem against the Timberwolves.

Luka has made a career of whining to referees. Minnesota fans saw it last year against the Dallas Mavericks, and they had to weather the storm this time around against Los Angeles.

It’s not as simple as suggesting that Doncic should lay off the fast food and get in shape. Then again, a player that talented has no reason to be as much of a conditioning liability as he is. The postgame show, led by Charles Barkley, took him to task in that regard.

Related: What We Learned About the MN Timberwolves in Series Clinching Win Over Lakers

Maybe the Lakers will be back, but they’ll need to rework the roster and continue to find the fountain of youth for LeBron. Here’s to hoping he heals well and Doncic grows up.

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