LeBron James injury puts damper on final stages of NBA season

The Lakers' midseason resurgence injected new life into the NBA season, with TV viewership and fan engagement seeing considerable upticks in recent weeks. 

That's why LeBron James' groin injury, which is expected to keep the 40-year-old out for multiple weeks, comes at the worst possible time for the league. Without James, the Lakers are unlikely to resemble the team that owns the third-best record (22-8) in 2025 — a severe blow to the storylines shaping the season's final month.

The Lakers are slated to play four nationally televised games over the next nine days, including two contests apiece against the Nuggets and Bucks. The games against Denver are particularly critical since the two teams are locked in a tight battle for the second seed in the West. Suffice it to say that interest in those games has waned due to James' injury.

It's often said the NBA is in a healthier place when the Lakers are relevant, which they've been this season as a .645 team. However, Los Angeles could realistically fall to the sixth seed while waiting for James to return. The second-seeded Lakers (40-22) own just a five-game lead over the sixth-seeded Warriors (36-28) and seventh-seeded Timberwolves (37-29), both of whom have a much easier strength of schedule the rest of the way. 

If JJ Redick's men aren't careful, they could lose a lot of ground in the standings, which would be bad news for the NBA's key stakeholders. The idea of the Lakers entering the play-in tournament and possibly missing the playoffs will be a devastating blow to the league.

It's not just the Lakers who need James back as soon as possible. The NBA and its television partners better hope his groin injury isn't as severe as the one in 2018-19, which kept him out for 17 games. The Lakers have only 20 games left, and each one counts.