The NBA has seen a record number of stars fall to injury this post-season, and Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James believes that's no fluke.
In a trio of tweets posted Wednesday, James said he believes this long list of injuries could've been avoided had the NBA started its season later, giving players more time to rest and recuperate.
They all didn’t wanna listen to me about the start of the season. I knew exactly what would happen. I only wanted to protect the well being of the players which ultimately is the PRODUCT & BENEFIT of OUR GAME! These injuries isn’t just “PART OF THE GAME”. It’s the lack of PURE
— LeBron James (@KingJames) June 16, 2021
works all year round it’s ME! I speak for the health of all our players and I hate to see this many injuries this time of the year. Sorry fans wish you guys were seeing all your fav guys right now.
— LeBron James (@KingJames) June 16, 2021
The Lakers defeated the Miami Heat to raise the Larry O'Brien Trophy on October 11 in the league's Orlando bubble. The 2021 season started up on Dec. 22, with pre-season camps starting up less than two months after the 2020 season finale -- a huge adjustment for players, considering a normal off-season spans three months. James expressed his displeasure at that shortened off-season at the time.
The most recent big name lost to injury is Kawhi Leonard. The Los Angeles Clippers star suffered a right knee sprain Monday against the Utah Jazz that will keep him out of Wednesday's Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals and puts his availability through the rest of the series and beyond in doubt.
