When will LeBron James be back in uniform for the Lakers? It depends upon the source.

The Lakers provided a positive however unclear update Thursday, stating the 38-year-old has been cleared for on-court activity and "progressive basketball movement progression." Specifically, the update said there is no timeline for his return from an ideal foot tendon injury, which has kept him out of action considering that Feb. 26.

That was followed in short order with several media reports with a target date: ESPN, The Athletic and TNT all reported that James hoped to play in the recently of the season, possibly the last three or four video games.

That apparently set off James, who sent a tweet: "There wasn't an examination today and there hasn't been any target date for my return. I'm simply working around the clock, every day( 3X a day) to give myself to finest chance of returning full strength whenever that is. God bless y' all sources. I speak for myself!"

That may not settle things, but the essential takeaway-- aside from James arguing with trusted news outlets-- is that he's getting closer to a return.

Having James back would be a big boost to the Lakers (36-37), who remained in 10th location in the West as of midday Thursday. When healthy, James has actually been the team's leading scorer (29.5 ppg) and leading playmaker (6.9 apg) and among the leading rebounders (8.4 rpg). James' return would bring additional playmaking and scoring punch to a group that has actually gone 11-6 given that the trade due date and already boasts the seventh-best net ranking (plus-3.6) in that period.

James has actually done spot shooting, and teammate Dennis Schröder pointed out recently that he was exercising three times a day. The upgrade likewise was a positive improvement after coach Darvin Ham said Wednesday that James had been "not physically able" to participate in group shootarounds.

That hasn't stopped him, nevertheless, from offering insights to the training staff and teammates, Ham said.

" Just talking through various matchups, various people, giving guys chances," he stated. "He's tossed me a couple of good ATOs we've drawn up in the huddle. It's been terrific. He's simply being engaged and really talking through the mindset, that time is of the essence. Just (9) games left, and we truly got ta push through and make this thing take place."

James' refuting of reports lines up with his efforts in recent seasons to make a return as soon as possible from injury. Multiple times during his Lakers period, James has been updated from "out" a day prior to a video game all the method to "readily available" at tip-off. In his 20th season, his ability to gut out an early return from an injury has actually been compromised: In the 2020-21 season, James had a hard time to come back from a high ankle sprain, playing two games after missing out on 20 straight, then missing out on six more video games after laboring in both losses.

Presuming the reports are reliable, the Lakers could deal with a crunch at the end of the season to get James back in rhythm before a possible play-in game or first-round series. The group's last 5 games include 3 roadway video games at the Rockets, Jazz and Clippers, followed by 2 home video games versus the Suns and Jazz. Given that all three of the last games will be played in Crypto.com Arena, it might represent James' best opportunity to ramp back up all within Southern California confines.

Until then, the Lakers' have actually had possibly more success than anticipated with James out, going 7-5 in the interim. One of the gamers who stepped into a beginning role, Austin Reaves, stated the team has actually had the ability to flourish off the high stakes of games.

" Since Bron's been out, we've had to have numerous people fill what he does because he does everything on the court," Reaves said. "So I've tried to be more aggressive offensively both methods, getting colleagues involved, and then also scoring and getting to the line. It's really just been going back and playing basketball the method that I enjoy, the way that I've constantly played and having enjoyable with it."

It's a lot more fun, naturally, when the entire group is able to play.

Oklahoma City at Lakers

TV/Radio: Spectrum SportsNet/ESPN LA 710