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LeBron James Was One Win Away From Losing Historic Playoff Streak

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Zachary Neel | Last updated May 2, 2025 2:36 PM ET

For the Los Angeles Lakers, a loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 5 of the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs was unfortunate, ending their season after a historic trade that set them up for a potential championship run.

For Lakers star LeBron James, it may have been a blessing in disguise.

On Friday, it was revealed that James suffered a Grade 2 MCL sprain in the game after a collision with Donte DiVincenzo in Wednesday's game. The Lakers went on to lose 103-96 at home, ending the series in five games. According to ESPN's Dave McMenamin, had Los Angeles won, though, James would not have been healthy enough to play in a potential Game 6.

If the Lakers did play in a postseason game without LeBron on the court, his historic streak of playoff games played would be snapped.

"Had the Lakers extended their series with the Wolves for Game 6 tonight in Minnesota, they would be without James and James’ record streak of 292 straight playoff games without sitting out would have been snapped," McMenamin wrote.

James had a typical game on Wednesday, scoring 22 points with seven rebounds, six assists, and two steals. Meanwhile, Rui Hachimura had 23 points, and Luka Doncic had 28 points for the Lakers.

Minnesota's Rudy Gobert was the star of the game, scoring a postseason career-high 27 points while adding 24 rebounds.

Now that the season has come to a close for the Lakers, LeBron has publicly said that he is going to take some time to evaluate his future and whether or not he wants to return for another year. At age 40, it would be understandable if he wanted to hang his shoes up for good, but after another impressive season — James averaged 24 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists this year — it's not hard to see a world where he can play another year at an above average level.

If he does choose to come back, he can at least potentially extend his playoff streak of games played.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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