LeBron James out Monday vs. Nuggets to rest ankle

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James was out for six weeks due to a high ankle sprain he suffered on March 20 but returned to the lineup for Friday's loss to the Sacramento Kings. 

The four-time NBA champion admitted after that defeat that he doesn't think he will "ever get back to 100%" during his career following this latest setback, and ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne report James aggravated the ankle in the fourth quarter of Sunday's loss to the Toronto Raptors. 

As a result, James will sit out Monday's matchup against the Denver Nuggets to rest the ankle. His status for Thursday's showdown with the Los Angeles Clippers is unknown as of Monday afternoon. 

The Lakers have lost three straight games and six of their last seven to fall to 36-28 overall and sixth place in the Western Conference standings. Only the tiebreaker advantage currently separates Los Angeles from the seventh-place Portland Trail Blazers and a spot in the play-in tournament that will feature teams 7-10 in the standings at the conclusion of regular-season play.