LeBron James will not be playing in the Lakers’ game tonight vs. Milwaukee.
Fresh off becoming the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James will not be in the lineup for his next game. The team announced Thursday that James is suffering from left ankle soreness and will sit out against the Milwaukee Bucks (10 ET, TNT).
Also, an injury update: LeBron James is out tonight against Milwaukee due to left ankle soreness.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) February 9, 2023
James, however, will be in attendance at the game and will be feted for passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the league’s No. 1 scorer in Tuesday’s game against Oklahoma City. The team will hold a pregame ceremony for James at approximately 9:40 p.m. ET to celebrate his recent accomplishment.
The Lakers will honor LeBron James in a pregame ceremony beginning at 6:40 p.m. at https://t.co/JZKgZ5DaP0 Arena, prior to their game on Thursday.
Fans are encouraged to arrive to the arena early and tune into @SpectrumSN to help celebrate the NBA’s new All-Time Leading Scorer.
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) February 9, 2023
In that game against the Thunder, James sank a 21-foot turnaround with 10.9 seconds left in the third quarter at Crypto.com Arena, giving him 16 points in the period, the necessary 36 for the game and 38,388 for his illustrious career — now more than any other player in NBA history.
With double-figure points in all but eight career games, and scoring averages of at least 25 points per game in all 19 seasons since his rookie campaign in 2003-04, James consistently chipped away at the standard Kareem Abdul-Jabbar initially set in 1984 and continued to build on until his retirement in 1989.
The Lakers (25-30) have lost two straight games and four of their last six overall. They trail the No. 10-seeded Portland Trail Blazers (27-28) by three games for the final spot in the Play-In Tournament chase.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
