LeBron James update: Lakers star returns against Bulls after missing 13 games with foot injury

LeBron James will return Sunday against the Bulls after suffering a right foot injury, the team announced less than an hour before the tip. James has missed his team’s last 13 games because of this foot injury, but tested his foot in the pre-game warm-up and is set for Sunday’s matinee in Los Angeles.

The injury itself came in the middle of a Feb. 26 clash with the Dallas Mavericks. The Lakers were as much as 27 points behind in the game, but James played through the injury to help the Lakers complete the comeback. He finished that contest with 26 points, eight rebounds and three assists, but he’s been sidelined since then.

The Lakers have thrived in his absence. They’re now 8-5 since James went down, and after spending most of the season ranked 13th in the Western Conference standings, they’re now up to 8th. Friday’s win over the Oklahoma City Thunder took the Lakers to .500 for the first time this season. They’re now 37-37 and well positioned to reach the postseason either via the play-in rounds or by making the top 6 and going straight to the playoffs.

Of course, getting there is one thing. Winning there is another. A limping James would have made a real postseason run almost impossible. Anthony Davis kept the team afloat without James. Austin Reaves has emerged as a key starter and handler with the ball, but ultimately this team’s postseason dreams hinge on having two superstars. James is one of them, and the roster around him looks significantly stronger since the Lakers traded Russell Westbrook for D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt on deadline day.

The Lakers have eight games left on their schedule. If James can return on Sunday or in the near future, he still has time to quickly prepare for a post-season run. In 2021, James was returning from an injury with just two games left in the regular season and was never quite himself in a first-round loss to Phoenix. With more time to work, however, the Lakers have never looked for a major threat looking for the postseason than today.