LeBron James: 'I don't think I will ever get back to 100% in my career' after ankle injury

LeBron James was forced to make an honest admission about his career following his return to the Los Angeles Lakers' lineup on Friday night in a 110-106 loss to the Sacramento Kings. 

James missed 20 games with a high-ankle sprain, and at 36-years-old, he knows his body won't bounce back like it once did. 

"I knew I wasn't going to get back to 100%. It's impossible," James said, according to ESPN's Dave McMenamin. "I don't think I will ever get back to 100% in my career."

With that being said, James said he felt good in 31 minutes of action on Friday and that he put in extra work to return before the end of the regular season:

"For my first game in six weeks, I felt OK. As far as my wind, I felt pretty good. As far as my ankle, it was a little tight at times, obviously. … But I came out unscathed and pretty good. So it's a good start.

"It's been urgency for me to get back ever since I got injured. So that's just who I am. You guys could have seen the logging of the minutes and hours per day that I was doing as far as rehab and treatment, it was a lot more than I slept. So over the last six weeks, that's all I've been doing, is having an urgency to get back and play."

With James and Anthony Davis now back in the lineup, the Lakers will once again be the team to beat in the Western Conference. 

The Phoenix Suns, Utah Jazz, Los Angeles Clippers and Denver Nuggets have better records, but the Lakers are primed to defend their title and won't let their place in the standings fluster them. 

James was playing at an MVP level before suffering the ankle injury. If he can get back to that level, the Lakers should be fine.