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Report: Lakers' LeBron James suffered MCL sprain in Game 5 against Timberwolves

James collided with Minnesota's Donte DiVincenzo during the fourth quarter Wednesday night.
Nolan O'Hara|
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James brings the ball up court against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the first half in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on April 30, 2025.
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James brings the ball up court against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the first half in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on April 30, 2025. | Gary A. Vaszquez / Imagn Images

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Minnesota Timberwolves

LeBron James has never missed a playoff game, and he's played 292 of them.

But had the Los Angeles Lakers forced a Game 6 in their first-round Western Conference playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, which would have taken place Friday night at Target Center in Minneapolis, the NBA's all-time scoring leader would have had to sit out. James suffered a Grade 2 MCL sprain during the fourth quarter of Minnesota's series-clinching Game 5 victory, according to a report from ESPN's Dave McMenamin. The recovery timeline is 3-5 weeks.

James collided with Wolves guard Donte DiVincenzo with 8:39 remaining in the fourth quarter of Wednesday's Game 5. He appeared to be favoring his knee as he went down on the court, and DiVincenzo was called for an offensive foul. While James seemed to be in pain, he only sat for a little over a minute before subbing back into the game with 7:23 remaining.

James played the remainder of the game, and 40 minutes in all, finishing with 22 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

It was a physical Game 5 between the two teams, where several players appeared to get banged up. DiVincenzo's face looked quite swollen after taking an elbow to the face from Austin Reaves, and Luka Doncic briefly exited just before halftime after appearing to injure his back after taking a hard foul from DiVincenzo on a drive late in the second quarter.

All remained in the game, even James, whose series would have come to an end one way or another Wednesday night.

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Nolan O'Hara
NOLAN O'HARA

Nolan O'Hara covers all things Minnesota sports, primarily the Timberwolves, for Bring Me The News and Sports Illustrated's On SI network. He previously worked as a copy editor at the St. Paul Pioneer Press and is a graduate of the University of Minnesota's Hubbard School of Journalism. His work has appeared in the Pioneer Press, Ratchet & Wrench magazine, the Minnesota Daily and a number of local newspapers in Minnesota, among other publications.

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