LeBron James walked with a noticeable limp following the Lakers' 111-108 win over the Mavericks Sunday.
He missed the Lakers' next game Tuesday. The team later announced James' injured right foot would be reassessed in two weeks, but the timeline for his return will likely last longer.
The 38-year-old entered the game against Dallas with an ankle issue. Before he suffered a more extensive foot injury, he took a few seconds to joke with a superstar quarterback who was in the building.
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The Kansas City Chiefs star quarterback was sitting courtside with his wife Brittany. Before the referee handed James the ball on the sideline, James joked with Mahomes and about how they had something in common — injured ankles.
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"You not the only one playing with a f----- up ankle huh?" James quipped before tossing the ball inbounds to a teammate.
WARNING: VIDEO BELOW CONTAINS EXPLICIT LANGUAGE
Mahomes suffered a high ankle sprain in a divisional round playoff game against the Jaguars in January. The next week, Mahomes battled through the injury in the AFC championship game and led his team to victory over the Bengals.
During the AFC title game, Mahomes was hit late by a defender as he was running out of bounds. Defensive tackle Joseph Ossai was flagged for unnecessary roughness. The 15-yard penalty set up kicker Harrison Butker's 45-yard field goal in the game's final seconds.
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An unnamed NFL coach later accused Mahomes of flopping in an effort to draw a flag.
"That is what the owners want, $40 million skill players flopping on the ground," an NFC defensive coach told The Athletic, "drawing fouls from chemistry teachers, medical device salesmen and the like."
A few days later, Mahomes shrugged off the accusation.
"The most pain I had was stopping. So once he pushed me, it would have been hard to put my foot in the ground and try to stop. So I rolled through it," Mahomes said, via Jesse Newell of The Kansas City Star.
"You get over there with the heaters and the benches and people. That’s where, a lot of times, people get hurt. I think that’s the reason why there’s a flag for getting pushed out of bounds like that late."
A high ankle sprain typically takes four to six weeks to recover from. But, two weeks later, the Chiefs played the Eagles in Super Bowl LVII. In the first half, Mahomes was tackled after he ran from the pocket.
James was seen with a walking boot on his right leg during Tuesday's loss to Ja Morant and the Grizzlies. James recently emphasized the importance of the final stretch of the season.
"It's 23 of the most important games of my career, for the regular season," James said.
The Lakers are 29-33 and in 12th place in the Western Conference standings. They wrap up a three-game road trip in Oklahoma City Wednesday night.
