SACRAMENTO — LeBron James has entered the league’s health and safety protocols and will not play in Tuesday night’s game against the Kings, the Los Angeles Lakers announced.
It is expected that James will miss several games, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
“Obviously it’s a huge loss,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said in his pregame remarks Tuesday. “It’s disappointing. We just want the best for him right now. That’s where our thoughts are. And we have a next-man-up mindset.”
The Lakers will start Talen Horton-Tucker in James’ place, the team announced.
Vogel said the team found out James was entering the health and safety protocols on Tuesday morning and arranged for transportation for James to return to L.A. from Sacramento.
“Hopefully this is something that’s short term,” Vogel said. “We’ll see.”
Vogel declined to answer a reporter’s question about what symptoms James is experiencing.
James has already missed 11 of the Lakers’ 22 games coming into Tuesday because of injuries and a suspension. L.A. is 7-4 with James this season and 4-7 without him.
“We know he wants to be in there every night,” Vogel said. “More than anybody in the league, probably.”
If a player has a confirmed positive test for COVID-19, the NBA mandates a minimum of 10 days of isolation away from his team without any physical activity. After that period, a player must undergo a cardiac screening and reconditioning in order to be cleared to return to the court. A player who tests positive could also clear protocol by returning two negative PCR tests within a 24-hour period.
James revealed on Lakers media day in late September that he had received the COVID-19 vaccine.
“I know that I was very skeptical about it all,” he said. “But after doing my research and things of that nature, I felt like it was best suited, not only for me but for my family and my friends. And that’s why I decided to do it.”
Vogel said he, Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka and team doctors met with Lakers players to emphasize the NBA’s recommendation to receive booster shots to combat COVID-19.
“We met early in the season or right around the day or two of that recommendation,” Vogel said. “Just to encourage and recommend the booster shot and the values that come with it.”
James is averaging 25.8 points, 6.8 assists and 5.2 rebounds this season, his 19th in the NBA.
“It’s an 82-game season,” Vogel said. “You’re going to have to deal with guys going in and out of the lineup. We’ve been without him some already this season. I feel like we’re further along with our cohesiveness now than we were the first time he went out with his ab strain. And we got to come in and compete and get a W tonight.”
