When will LeBron James be back for the Lakers after entering the NBA’s health and safety protocols?
On Tuesday night, it was revealed that Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James will miss Tuesday night’s game against the Sacramento Kings.
LeBron was not listed on the injury report, and had instead entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols.
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Has LeBron James tested positive for covid?
James entered into the NBA’s covid-19 health and safety protocols on Tuesday. Initially, however, there was no confirmation that LeBron had actually tested positive for covid-19.
However, TMZ, and others, now report that James has tested positive for covid-19 after using a lateral flow test. James was then reportedly given a follow-up PCR test which came back negative. He was then given a third test which came back positive.
Is LeBron James vaccinated?
The league says that an NBA player would enter covid-19 protocols only after either testing positive for the virus or being flagged in contact tracing of an infected person while unvaccinated.
LeBron James is vaccinated; he announced his vaccination status in September. He is reportedly asymptomatic at the moment. There is no indication as to where he picked up the virus.
Teammate Anthony Davis spoke to reporters, seemingly confirming TMZ’s report that LeBron has tested positive for covid.
“I talked to him today,” Davis said. “I checked on him. Just hearing what Joel Embiid said, obviously [Embiid] was scared, he said that he thought he wasn’t going to make it. COVID is a scary thing…. it’s a scary situation.”
When will LeBron James be back?
NBA rules mandate that if a vaccinated player tests positive he is out of competition for at least 10 days or until he returns two negative tests at least 24 hours apart.
If it’s the worst case scenario and Lebron James is out for 10 days, he will miss the Lakers’ games against the Los Angeles Clippers on 4 December, Boston Celtics on 8 December and the Memphis Grizzlies on 10 December.
He would be back for the Lakers’ game against the Thunder on 11 December.
LeBron has already missed 11 of the Lakers’ 22 games this season due to ankle and abdominal injuries. They are currently 8th in the West with a record of 12-11.
