With the Los Angeles Lakers eliminated from the playoff picture and little else left to play for, the team announced on Saturday that they were shutting down LeBron James for the final six games of the season.
According to the team’s official press release, this decision is being made in order to prioritize LeBron’s health and his continuing recovery from a groin injury suffered earlier in the season. In the NBA, load management is fairly common practice, and especially so for a 34-year-old with the workload that LeBron has.
For his part, LeBron posted this to Instagram, with a caption that seems to fire back at his detractors.
Regardless, the NBA world met the Lakers’ decision with some surprise, especially to see that LeBron’s season would end so much earlier than we’ve grown accustomed to.
