Feb 19, 2023; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Team LeBron forward LeBron James (6) shoots against Team Giannis in the 2023 NBA All-Star Game at Vivint Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

LeBron James Sits Out Second Half Of NBA All-Star Game After Suffering Right Hand Contusion But ‘Not Too Worried’

Originally posted on Lakers Nation | By Daniel Starkand | Last updated 2/19/23

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James sat out the second half of the NBA All-Star Game after suffering a right hand contusion.

James captained his team for the sixth straight year, suffering his first loss, 184-175, with Jayson Tatum being named the MVP in Team Giannis Antetokounmpo’s win.

LeBron played 14 minutes in the first half, scoring 13 points on 6-of-11 shooting with a rebound and four assists. He had one of the best highlights of the night when he threw an alley-oop to himself off the backboard. James also hit a deep 3-pointer from beyond the logo, putting on a show along with the rest of the All-Stars at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City.

The hand contusion occurred late in the second quarter when James hit his hand on the rim trying to block a shot by Pascal Siakam. There is no further update on James’ status, although he didn’t seem to be too worried about it, via Dan Woike of the L.A. Times:

LeBron James said he's not too worried about his hand, that he got his finger stuck in the rim a little on a chasedown block attempt.

— Dan Woike (@DanWoikeSports) February 20, 2023

LeBron was honored at halftime for becoming the NBA’s all-time leading scorer and did not have his hand wrapped or anything while greeting Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Dwayne Wade, Kobe Bryant’s family and others.

The good news for James is that he now has until Thursday to get his hand ready to play before the Lakers take on the Golden State Warriors in the first game out of the All-Star break.

James believes All-Star break will be beneficial for foot

James has also been dealing with a foot injury that recently forced him to miss three games. He returned and looked healthy against the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday and said that he believed the All-Star break would be beneficial for him going into the second half.

Hopefully this hand contusion doesn’t complicate things because James and the Lakers will need to go on a serious run in their final 23 games in order to get back in the postseason picture.

This article first appeared on Lakers Nation and was syndicated with permission.

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