LeBron James leaves Lakers for ‘personal reasons’

LeBron James has been away from the Los Angeles Lakers for some time this season amid on-court strife and off-court controversy.

The NBA legend missed the Lakers’ first game of the season against the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday due to a sore foot.

However, concerns were raised when the 39-year-old also did not practice on Wednesday, and head coach JJ Redick later confirmed he was out for an extended period of time.

“LeBron’s not on the team right now,” Redick said after practice. “He is absent for personal reasons. I apologize for his absence.”

He added that the veteran is “taking his time,” and declined to say when James would return to the team.

LeBron’s representatives could not be reached for comment.

News of LeBron’s absence came on the same day MMA fighter Colby Covington slammed the NBA star for his past relationship with Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs.

Covington referenced a video of James joining Combs in an Instagram Live chat four years ago.

“Hey, we all know, there’s no party like a Diddy party,” a clip of James telling Combs went viral in September.

“What does that mean, LeBron? How many times did he actually go to Diddy’s parties?” Covington asked at a press conference Wednesday.

Combs was arrested in Manhattan in September following an investigation into sex trafficking and is accused of drugging and raping a victim as young as 9 years old.

Combs, who faces more than 100 sexual abuse charges, is known for his extravagant “freak-offs.”

These parties are said to have turned into large orgies, sometimes lasting for several days.

Mr. Combs continues to maintain that he was wrongly accused, and that although the charges were despicable, all parties involved were consensual.

The rapper has been in custody since his arrest in September, accused of coercing and abusing women over a period of years using his employees and network of employees. The indictment accuses him of using violence and intimidation, including kidnapping, arson and assault, to silence his victims.

James has not commented on the resurfaced video and has not implicated Combs in any way.

It was confirmed that James will also be ruled out of Friday’s game between the Lakers and the Minnesota Timberwolves.

James is averaging 23 points, 9.1 assists and 8.0 rebounds so far this season, 22nd in the NBA.

Redick also remains in constant communication with both James and longtime athletic trainer Mike Mancias about managing the four-time MVP’s workload as he approaches his 40th birthday later this month. He said he was there.

“During the game, he was asked to sub a few times because he was gassed,” Reddick said. “For us, we have to recognize it game after game, but it’s the cumulative effect of playing so many hours and getting hit in the leg on Sunday. We felt it was a good opportunity for him to rest. ”. ”

James expressed a desire to play all 82 games earlier this season, but both he and the Lakers are now navigating the reality of minor injuries that are inevitable in any season.

Last month, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer announced in a bizarre post that he was quitting social media.

“Well then, thank you everyone!” I will be away from social media for a while. Everyone please be careful,” he said in a post with a peace sign and a crown emoji.

James said goodbye to his 159 million Instagram followers and 52.9 million followers on X in response to a post from Rich Kleinman, Kevin Durant’s longtime manager.

He shared a screenshot of a long X post from an NBA agent written on Oct. 24, harshly criticizing negativity in sports coverage.

“We can all admit that sports are the last part of society that universally unites people. So why can’t we do the same with the press? It’s clickbait,” Klayman wrote at the time.

“When a platform is this big, it allows change to happen and we all get away from negative situations in real life. Personally, I think it’s a waste of breath. The Olympics and J.J. [Redick] And Bron’s show was the future that this could and should be. ”

‘Amen! ! ‘James posted with a salute emoji.

Just minutes later, he posted a bizarre farewell message on social media, a day after saying, “Everyone on the internet was calling me a liar.”

James’ absence comes as he has been surrounded by trade rumors this week.

The Golden State Warriors are looking for a second star to join Stephen Curry and are said to be keeping tabs on the veteran, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported this week.

“The Warriors have been dreaming about pairing LeBron with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green since last year,” he said on the network’s “Get Up.”

“They did an investigation and it was shut down last February. That was before LeBron was playing with Steve Kerr and Stephen Curry and winning gold in the summer.

“So they’ll definitely be monitoring the situation and I don’t think there’s any way they would do anything without knowing that this door is locked, but I would say with LeBron, it’s up to him.” He has a no-trade clause and hasn’t indicated he wants the Lakers to do anything other than upgrade the roster, and it’s not like he wants to go anywhere. ”

This season, the 20-year-old was selected by the Lakers in the second round of the 2024 draft, fulfilling his dream of playing in the NBA alongside his son Bronny.

They became the first father-son duo in history to suit up side by side in an NBA game on Oct. 22, during the Lakers’ season opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

However, James Jr. was assigned to the Lakers’ G League affiliate early last month and is expected to move between Los Angeles and the South Bay this season.

James Sr. received a full no-trade clause from the Lakers in a two-year, $101.4 million contract he signed in the offseason, and appeared to be ending his career in Los Angeles since joining the team in the summer of 2018. .