Report: LeBron James Suffered Serious Knee Injury In Game 5 Against Timberwolves

According to Dave McMenamin of ESPN, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James suffered a serious knee injury in Game 5 against the Minnesota Timberwolves. 

James, 40, suffered a Grade 2 MCL sprain in his left knee.

Story filed to https://t.co/oAsD1rYqjW: LeBron James suffered a Grade 2 MCL sprain in his left knee from his collision with Donte DiVincenzo in Wednesday’s Game 5, a league source told ESPN. The injury entails a 3-5 week recovery timeline.

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) May 2, 2025

James is 40 years old. He’s the oldest active player in the NBA. The leading scorer of all time averaged 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 8.2 assists during the 2024-25 regular season.

The Lakers lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs despite having James and Luka Doncic. 

James is a four-time MVP, a four-time champion and a four-time Finals MVP. He’s played for the Cleveland Cavaliers (twice), Miami Heat and Lakers. 

James turns 41 in December. 

“You don’t know what the (Lakers) roster will look like next year besides the guys that (are) locked into contracts,” James said. “S—, I got a lot to think about myself. So I don’t know what the roster will look like. I don’t know where I stand right now.”

James joined the Lakers in 2018. Los Angeles missed the playoffs in 2019, won the championship in 2020, lost in the first round of the 2021 playoffs, missed the playoffs in 2022, lost in the conference finals in 2023 and lost in the first round of the 2024 and 2025 playoffs. 

“For me, since my first NBA Finals appearance in 2007, the moment I got an opportunity to be a part of that and taste that feeling, from there on, every season that I did not make it to the Finals or did not win the championship has been a disappointment,” James said. “So … it will be an offseason of disappointment and unfulfillment.”