UPDATE: James was able to return to the court after sustaining the injury.
Sunday’s matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks pitted former NBA Champion teammates against each other as LeBron James took on his former Cleveland Cavaliers teammate Kyrie Irving. But unfortunately, the super-star showdown was quickly overshadowed by something very concerning on the court.
During the third quarter of Sunday afternoon’s matchup between the Mavericks and the Lakers, LeBron James went up for a contested layup near the rim. But unfortunately for him, he appeared to fall down on his ankle awkwardly and remained on the floor until he was helped up.
As if the scene wasn’t concerning enough for James and the Lakers, LeBron’s reaction to the injury made the scene quite a bit more concerning as the NBA’s all-time scoring leader said he “heard a pop” as he grabbed his ankle on the floor.
“I heard a pop. I heard a pop,” LeBron James could be seen saying as he rolled on the floor.
The reaction went viral around the NBA world.
James has been the Lakers’ most important player so far this season, leading the team with 29.6 points per game. During All-Star weekend, James made it clear that he wants to push hard to clinch a playoff spot for the Lakers and he understood that if that was going to happen, he was going to have to remain healthy.
Moments like this will understandably leave Lakers fans nervous every time.
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