Is LeBron James Playing Tonight? (Injury Update, Betting Impact for Bulls vs. Lakers)

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James has missed the last three games with multiple injuries, andhe's listed as questionable for the fourth game in a row on Thursday against the Chicago Bulls.

James is officially dealing with a right hip contusion and left foot arthritis.

The Lakers have managed to play pretty well without the four-time champion this season, going 14-7 in the 21 games that he's missed, including a 10-2 record when Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves are both in action without him.

The Lakers are now 10-2 this season when Luka & Austin Reaves play without LeBron James pic.twitter.com/XKaWobAsZu
— Underdog (@Underdog) March 11, 2026

Oddsmakers at DraftKings have set the Lakers as 11.5-point favorites at home in this matchup against the tanking Bulls, which doesn't give much insight into James' status. On one hand, the Lakers may not be favored by as much if the star forward was expected to miss this game, however, the team has played well in this stretch with him sidelined.

This season, James is averaging 21.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game while shooting 50.4 percent from the field and 31.3 percent from beyond the arc. He's still an impactful player at this stage in his career, and the Lakers are eight games over .500 when he plays. So, even though the tema has a solid record without James, it has still won when he's been in action as well.

Chicago has won just three of its last 10 games and holds the No. 12 spot in the Eastern Conference standings. Since the Lakers have two big games coming up -- against Denver and Houston -- there's a chance they may rest James on Thursday if he's not feeling 100 percent.

Los Angeles will release and updated injury report later on Thursday, and the SI Betting team will have James' status and the latest betting odds for this matchup.

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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