Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James. Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Lakers' LeBron James seemingly on brink of comeback

By Sai Mohan | Last updated Mar 21, 2025 10:12 AM ET

The Lakers have refused to set a timeline for LeBron James' comeback from a groin injury, but "The King" is set for an imminent return.

Shortly before the Lakers' loss to the Bucks on Thursday, James sprinted up and down the court in what Spectrum SportsNet's Allie Clifton described as a " pretty intense workout" session. As seen below, James made a full-court sprint and dunked the ball before repeating the routine several times.

Clifton, who covered James through his years in Cleveland and Miami, said she hadn't seen the 40-year-old look as spry in at least 10 years.

"I remember him doing this kind of workout about a decade ago in Cleveland," Clifton said on the Lakers broadcast. "Take that for what it's worth ... He looks to be running and moving quite well."

The in the lab pic.twitter.com/EVBBf5alYX
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) March 21, 2025

James missed his seventh straight contest on Thursday after appearing in 58 of the Lakers' first 62 games. With 11 games missed thus far, James can afford to miss only six more, or else will fail to qualify for the NBA's season-ending accolades and awards. Before his injury, he was considered a lock to make an All-NBA Team and potentially an All-Defensive Team for his stellar showing in his 22nd season.

When James suffered the injury against the Celtics on March 8, Lakers fans had good reason to be concerned. James missed 17 games with the same injury back in 2018-19 and looked like a shell of himself upon his return as the Lakers failed to qualify for the playoffs.

It appears history won't repeat itself, and James will soon resume his pursuit of a fifth NBA championship. The Lakers have the tied fourth-shortest odds to hoist the Larry O'Brien Trophy in June.

Sai Mohan

A veteran sportswriter based in Portugal, Sai covers the NBA for Yardbarker and a few local news outlets. He had the honor of covering sporting events across four different continents as a newspaper reporter. Some of his all-time favorite athletes include Mike Tyson, Larry Bird, Luís Figo, Ayrton Senna and Steffi Graf.

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