LeBron James, a great player for the Los Angeles Lakers, had surgery on his ankle during the All-great break. As a result, he missed Thursday’s game against the Golden State Warriors. The result was a bad loss for the Lakers, so they were glad to have him back for their game against the Spurs on Friday. It’s no surprise that James didn’t miss a step.

James scored 30 points, making 13 of 22 shots from the field. He also grabbed seven rebounds and gave out nine assists. He tied Spencer Dinwiddie for the game-high with a plus-21 rating. The Lakers beat Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs by five points. Even though it had been over a week since his last game, James didn’t look like his ankle hurt at all. He was focused and ready to play.

He was pleased with how well his mind and body responded on Friday night, even though things weren’t quite right yet.

“Feel pretty good,” James said about his hip. “To be honest, I was more surprised by how well my wind was! My ankle did pretty well, though.” I was glad to be there and help my team win. That was the most important thing.

James talked about why he was treated in the middle of the season and how he plans to handle the rest of the 2023–24 season.

“That’s the wish.” “There is hope, but nothing is 100%,” James said. This is the plan that Mike Mancias and I came up with. We didn’t just come up with it out of the blue; we knew the plan months in advance. We’re just looking for ways to make the most of the days we have free. “That stretch right there between when we played here last Tuesday and now was good for me.”

It is very important for the Lakers that James stays fit if they want to go on a stretch run. With a record of 31–27, they are still a few games away from moving up from ninth place in the Western Conference standings, and each game makes it harder.

So the Lakers don’t have to go through the Play-In Tournament again, let’s hope James is now ready for that run without having to miss any important time.