After going down in the middle of the fourth quarter of Game 5 against the Timberwolves with a knee injury, LeBron James was able to return to the court and finish the game.

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) reacts during the first half in game five of first round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

But in the wake of the Lakers‘ loss, which ended their season, it was revealed that he had suffered a Grade 2 MCL sprain.

In an episode of James’ “Mind The Game” podcast with Steve Nash, the Lakers star shed more light on that injury and his path forward.

“I knew as soon as when the impact happened with me and [Donte] DiVincenzo, I felt it right away,” James said.

“My knee locked up, and that’s why I kind of stayed on the ground for quite a minute to see if the knee will kind of release a little bit. But I knew right then and there was a pain that I hadn’t felt before.”

James reflected on the latter point, discussing how this was a unique experience in his 22-year career: “I’ve had the regular tendonitis and the patella, all that stuff, but this is the first time I’ve ever had a sustained knee injury where I had to, like, okay, you got to get off your feet.”

James told Nash that he had initially planned on waiting and assessing his pain level before getting his MRI, but when he woke up the next day, he knew it was dire enough to get the situation checked out immediately.

“Well, when I woke up Thursday morning and tried to get out of bed, I was like, holy s–t,” he said. “And I called Doc right away. I said, ‘I can’t wait till Friday. I need to go today.’”

James confirmed that if the Lakers had won Game 5, he likely would’ve been unavailable for the rest of the series, “and even further.”

If there’s a silver lining to the injury, other than the fact that thanks to the Wolves taking care of business in five games, James’ record of playing in 292 straight playoff games without missing time to injury remains intact — it’s that his recovery process won’t involve surgery.

With the season behind James and the Lakers, he has plenty of time to complete the four-to-six week rehab period and still get the rest of his conditioning in before next season starts.

While James has been noncommittal about his future, both in the NBA and with the Lakers in light of his looming player option for the 2025-26 season, his comments seemed to indicate his plans on playing next season.

“I have some time to get it right and get back to full strength as far as I need,” he told Nash.