Lakers: LeBron James Out; Anthony Davis Active For Nuggets Game Today

LeBron James will not be suiting up for the Lakers home game against the Nuggets today as he deals with a sore left ankle.

The Lakers season was pretty much over after losing to the Pelicans on Friday. This morning, LA might have officially waived the white flag. The Athletic's Shams Charania reported that LeBron James will not play against the Nuggets today.

Lakers star LeBron James will be out today vs. Nuggets as he deals with nagging ankle injury, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. The Lakers are currently one game behind San Antonio for the final Play-In spot.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 3, 2022

ESPN's Dave McMenamin notes that Anthony Davis will be active for the game and provided head coach Frank Vogel's reasoning for why LeBron is sidelined.

Frank Vogel says LeBron James is out and Anthony Davis will play today against Denver. “He had ankle soreness from the other night, this is essentially like a back to back,” Vogel said. Vogel said LeBron is day to day moving forward.

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) April 3, 2022

LeBron has been battling the sprained ankle he suffered in the Lakers game against the Pelicans last Sunday. He completed the game, but missed the next two games and watched the Lakers get blown out by the Mavericks and Jazz. 

To be equitable to Mr. James and the Lakers, the 37-year-old put up 39 points in 40 minutes on Friday night. The 12:30 PM PST start time certainly might have played a role in LeBron sitting out today's game.

Friday likely isn't the last Lakers fans have seen of LeBron. The superstar needs to appear in two more games to officially qualify for the league's scoring title. Through Saturday, he's the current leader at 30.3 PPG. 

Including today's contest, the Lakers have five more games remaining on their schedule.