On May 4, Lakers star LeBron James injured his left knee in the fifth game of the first round of the playoffs against the Timberwolves. He was diagnosed with a grade 2 sprain of the left knee ligament. It is expected to take 3 to 5 weeks to recover and he will miss the remaining playoff games.

According to reports, James' injury occurred with 8 minutes and 39 seconds left in the final quarter of Game 5. In a defensive round, he collided with Timberwolves player DiVincenzo's knees and then fell to the ground in pain. Although he returned to the court briefly and finished the game, the Lakers medical team immediately conducted an in-depth assessment of his knee after the game and finally confirmed that it was a second-grade ligament sprain.

Sports medicine expert Jeff Stotts posted on social media that the injury did not affect the medial meniscus and other core structures of the knee, so surgery is not required. Despite this, the recovery period will still take at least 3 weeks, and during the acute stage of the injury, James should not engage in any strenuous activities to avoid further damage.

The Lakers also confirmed the news. Team reporter Dan Woike and NBA reporter Khobi Price both said that James will miss the next playoff games. Regardless of whether the Lakers can drag the series into Game 6 or beyond, his journey this season has basically come to an end.

This is undoubtedly a heavy blow to the Lakers, who are currently in a stalemate. As the team's spiritual leader and offensive and defensive core, James' absence not only means that the Lakers have lost their tactical pillar, but is also likely to affect the team's overall morale. Especially when facing the Timberwolves, a team with extremely high defensive intensity and excellent inside impact, James' experience and control ability were originally the key to the Lakers' victory.

So far, the Lakers and Timberwolves have a total score of 2-3 in the series , and the Lakers are on the verge of elimination. Without James, the Lakers need to rely on Davis, Reeves, Russell and others to step up to avoid the embarrassment of being eliminated in the first round.

For James personally, this injury may also end his 22nd NBA season early . Although he still maintains a fairly efficient output and average points per game this season, this knee injury once again sounded the alarm for his " endurance at advanced age " . Whether he will choose to continue to fight in the next season or consider the end of his career in advance will also become the focus of attention from the outside world.