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A few of the biggest names in the NBA are on their respective team’s official injury reports. LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Anthony Davis and Paolo Banchero headline the glittering cast who will miss and could miss tonight’s games.
LeBron James, arguably the face of the NBA, will not be playing for the LA Lakers. “King James” reportedly suffered a lower leg injury in the fourth quarter against the LA Clippers. In the postgame press conference, James would inform the media that he felt okay and that just tweaked his groin.
After further tests, the Lakers have sidelined the four-time NBA MVP due to a left adductor strain. Fortunately, there were no tears based on the MRI. He is reportedly day-to-day when it comes to playing games.
The Lakers have downgraded his status from probable to out against the Sacramento Kings to give him enough time to recover. If LeBron James also misses the game against the Brooklyn Nets, he will have a total of eight days before the Lakers’ next match.
The 18x All-Star showed the NBA that he still has enough left in the tank to be an impactful player. He had one of his best games against the LA Clippers before suffering the unfortunate injury. The Lakers, who have the second-worst record in the NBA, will surely miss his services.
Meanwhile, Giannis Antetokounmpo has been battling left knee soreness since before the Milwaukee Bucks game against the Atlanta Hawks. He looked uncomfortable in the Bucks' losing cause against the Hawks. “The Greek Freak” finished the game with 25 points but took 20 shots and eight free throws to get the total.
Head coach Mike Budenholzer finally sidelined him against the OKC Thunder in the Bucks’ next game. Milwaukee originally listed him as probable before downgrading him to out. He will continue to be in street clothes on the road against the San Antonio Spurs tonight.
The Bucks, who beat the Thunder without arguably the NBA’s best player, will hope for the same result against the scrappy Spurs.
Anthony Davis: Lower back tightness; Injured since the preseason
Anthony Davis has been playing through back tightness since the preseason. He admitted that he’s just doing what he can to help the LA Lakers try to get wins as the pain is manageable.
AD has already missed one game due to the same issue this season and is consistent on the team’s injury report. The LA Lakers have listed one of the NBA’s best big men as probable for their game against the Sacramento Kings.
Anthony Davis will likely play as long as the pain is tolerable. The LA Lakers will already be missing NBA superstar LeBron James, which makes AD’s presence doubly crucial.
Davis is averaging 23.0 points, 10.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.9 blocks this season.
Paolo Banchero: Left ankle sprain; Injured since November 7, 2022
Paolo Banchero sprained his left ankle in the Orlando Magic’s loss to the Houston Rockets. He missed his first game due to injury when the Magic pulled off an upset against the Dallas Mavericks the other night.
Banchero is listed once again by the Orlando Magic as questionable. The No. 1 pick of the 2022 NBA Draft could still be sidelined tonight against the Phoenix Suns as the Magic are looking to be extra cautious with him.
Chuma Okeke started in place of the former Duke standout and could do so again if the rookie remains out.
