The complete LeBron James injury history: How Father Time is finally catching Lakers’ superstar

It’s often said that availability is the best ability, which is why LeBron James is considered among the best ever.

Over the course of his 19-year NBA career, the Lakers’ All-Star forward has long been a model of health as one of the most durable players ever. The numbers are truly staggering:

• James has logged over 62,000 minutes of playing time (regular season and playoffs) since entering the league in 2003
• James-led teams have advanced to the NBA Playoffs 16 times and advanced to the NBA Finals 10 times — he’s never missed a playoff game
• In the 2017-18 season, his 15th in the league, James appeared in all 82 games
• James’ first extended absence of greater than 10 games came in 2018-19, his 16th season in the NBA

Despite a heavy workload in his 19th season, James is playing at an All-NBA level with averages of 29.1 points, 7.7 rebounds and 6.3 assists, all while playing in 36.6 minutes per game — his most since the aforementioned 2017-18 campaign, in which he failed to miss a game.

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Durable as James is, that extended absence in the 2018-19 season proved to be a harbinger of sorts with the last four seasons revealing a shift towards basketball mortality:

• First 15 seasons (2003-2018): 71 games missed due to injury/rest
• Last four seasons (2018-Present): 71 games missed due to injury/rest

MEDICAL ANALYSIS: How serious is James’ knee injury?

Since the 2018-19 season, James has dealt with ailments ranging from a strained left groin to an abdominal strain, with “general swelling” in James’ left knee coming as the latest setback to hold the four-time MVP out of action.

James’ only other setback in this time wasn’t quite like the others, as a high ankle sprain in March 2021 held him out of 26 games, derailing the season for him and the Lakers. Unlike a strained groin or abdomen, James’ ankle injury was a product of an errant hustle play made by an opponent, something James himself acknowledged.

“I was playing some of the best basketball in my career before the injury and it wasn’t like a self-inflicted wound — it wasn’t something that I could control,” James said in 2021. “It wasn’t like I wasn’t putting in the work and then my body failed me. I literally had a grown man diving at my leg for a loose ball and here’s the injury.”

Is James’ body failing him now? It’s no secret that he takes care of his body as well as any other professional athlete but his recent rash of injuries do warrant some concern.

Perhaps it’s just bad luck or a product of two consecutive short offseasons or it could be Father Time’s attempt to improve upon an undefeated record. 

Regardless of what it could be, we know by now that James should never be written off, as he seemingly always bounces back better than before, it was true after he first was sidelined with an ankle injury as a rookie and, based on his play in Year 19, still holds true to this day.

At this pivotal juncture of the season for LeBron and the Lakers, I took a look back at the complete history of James missing time due to injury, rest and recovery to further illustrate his durability and gauge just how troubling this recent trend is.

LeBron James’ career injury history

First stint with Cavaliers (2003-10)

Season	Age	Injury/Reason	Games Missed	From	To	Record
2003-04	19	Sprained right ankle	3	Jan. 20, 2004	Jan. 24, 2004	2-1
2004-05	20	Sprained left ankle	2	Jan. 28, 2005	Jan. 30, 2005	1-1
2005-06	21	Sprained left ankle	1	April 13, 2006	April 13, 2006	1-0
2005-06	21	Sprained left ankle	2	April 17, 2006	April 19, 2006	2-0
2006-07	22	Sprained right big toe	1	Jan. 26, 2007	Jan. 26, 2007	1-0
2006-07	22	Sprained right big toe	1	Jan. 30, 2007	Jan. 30, 2007	1-0
2006-07	22	Back spasms	1	March 13, 2007	March 13, 2007	1-0
2006-07	22	Right knee tendinitis	1	April 1, 2007	April 1, 2007	0-1
2007-08	22	Sprained left index finger	5	Nov. 30, 2007	Dec. 8, 2007	0-5
2007-08	23	Sprained right ankle	1	Jan. 31, 2008	Jan. 31, 2008	0-1
2007-08	23	Rest	1	April 16, 2008	April 16, 2008	0-1
2008-09	24	Rest	1	April 15, 2009	April 15, 2009	0-1
2009-10	25	Sprained right ankle	2	March 6, 2010	March 8, 2010	1-1
2009-10	25	Rest	4	April 8, 2010	April 14, 2010	0-4
TOTAL			26			10-16

During James’ first stint with the Cavs, he missed 26 of a possible 574 games, his longest absence coming during the 2007-08 season due to a sprained left index finger.

James’ most prevalent injury was a sprained ankle, which, ironically, was the first injury that caused him to miss time. LeBron first missed time to rest during his fourth NBA season and would miss a total of six games for rest purposes.

Cleveland’s 10-16 record in James’ absence should be taken with a grain of salt as many late-season absences came in inconsequential games.

Heat (2010-14)

Season	Age	Injury/Reason	Games Missed	From	To	Record
2010-11	26	Sprained left ankle	2	Jan. 13, 2011	Jan. 15, 2011	0-2
2010-11	26	Rest	1	April 13, 2011	April 13, 2011	1-0
2011-12	27	Sprained left ankle	1	Jan. 5, 2011	Jan. 5, 2011	0-1
2011-12	27	Rest	1	April 21, 2011	April 21, 2011	0-1
2011-12	27	Rest	2	April 24, 2012	April 26, 2012	0-2
2012-13	28	Strained right hamstring	3	March 31, 2013	April 5, 2013	2-1
2012-13	28	Strained right hamstring	1	April 10, 2013	April 10, 2013	1-0
2012-13	28	Rest	2	April 13, 2013	April 15, 2013	2-0
2014-14	28	Right groin, left ankle	1	Dec. 28, 2013	Dec. 28, 2013	1-0
2013-14	29	Broken nose	1	Feb. 23, 2014	Feb. 23, 2014	1-0
2013-14	29	Back spasms	1	March 19, 2014	March 19, 2014	0-1
2013-14	29	Rest	2	April 14, 2016	April 16, 2016	0-2
TOTAL			18			8-10

In Miami, James appeared in 294 of a possible 312 games over four seasons (lockout-shortened 2011-12 season consisted of 66 games.)

James was most impacted by a strained right hamstring during the stretch run of the 2012-13 season, which held him out of four games.

In James’ 18 absences, the Heat posted a formidable 8-10 record, which is partly due to stars like Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade stepping up, that is, when the trio wasn’t all sidelined for rest purposes.

Second stint with Cavaliers (2014-18)

Season	Age	Injury/Reason	Games Missed	From	To	Record
2014-15	29	Left knee soreness	1	Dec. 11, 2014	Dec. 11, 2014	0-1
2014-15	30	Sore left knee, foot, lower back	8	Dec. 30, 2014	Jan. 11, 2015	1-7
2014-15	30	Sprained right wrist	1	Jan. 28, 2015	Jan. 28, 2015	1-0
2014-15	30	Sore back	1	Feb. 27, 2015	Feb. 27, 2015	0-1
2014-15	30	Rest	1	April 12, 2015	April 12, 2015	0-1
2014-15	30	Rest	1	April 15, 2015	April 12, 2015	1-0
2015-16	30	Rest	1	Dec. 5, 2015	Dec. 5, 2015	0-1
2015-16	31	Rest	1	Feb. 28, 2016	Feb. 28, 2016	0-1
2015-16	31	Rest	1	March 16, 2016	March 16, 2016	1-0
2015-16	31	Rest	1	March 29, 2016	March 29, 2016	0-1
2015-16	31	Rest	1	April 6, 2016	April 6, 2016	0-1
2015-16	31	Rest	1	April 13, 2016	April 13, 2016	0-1
2016-17	31	Rest	1	Nov. 16, 2016	Nov. 16, 2016	0-1
2016-17	31	Rest	1	Dec. 14, 2016	Dec. 14, 2016	0-1
2016-17	31	Rest	1	Dec. 26, 2016	Dec. 26, 2016	0-1
2016-17	32	Strep throat	1	Feb. 25, 2017	Feb. 26, 2017	0-1
2016-17	32	Rest	1	March 4, 2017	March 4, 2017	0-1
2016-17	32	Rest	1	March 18, 2017	March 18, 2017	0-1
2016-17	32	Rest	2	April 12, 2017	April 12, 2017	0-2
TOTAL			27			4-23

During his second stint with the Cavaliers, James missed 27 out of 328 regular season games. 

It’s worth noting that 15 of James’ 27 absences were scheduled nights of rest, all of which came after his 30th birthday. 11 of James’ scheduled rest nights came after Tyronn Lue took over as head coach.

Thanks in large part to a 1-7 stretch without James in the 2014-15 season, the Cavs were 4-23 in his absence from 2014-18.

He missed no games during the 2017-18 season.

Lakers (2018-Present)

Season	Age	Injury/Reason	Games Missed	From	To	Record
2018-19	34	Strained left groin	17	Dec. 27, 2018	Jan. 29, 2019	5-12
2018-19	34	Load management	1	Feb. 2, 2019	Feb. 2, 2019	0-1
2018-19	34	Load management	1	March 15, 2019	March 15, 2019	0-1
2018-19	34	Sore left groin	1	March 19, 2019	March 19, 2019	0-1
2018-19	34	Knee swelling, sore left groin	1	March 27, 2019	March 27, 2019	0-1
2018-19	34	Left groin injury management	6	March 31, 2019	April 9, 2019	3-3
2019-20	34	Strained thoracic muscle	1	Dec. 22, 2019	Dec. 22, 2019	0-1
2019-20	35	Chest cold	1	Jan. 11, 2020	Jan. 11, 2020	1-0
2019-20	35	Sore left groin	1	Feb. 27, 2020	Feb. 27, 2020	1-0
2019-20	35	Sore right groin	1	Aug. 6, 2020	Aug. 6, 2020	0-1
2020-21	36	Sore left ankle	1	March 3, 2021	March 3, 2021	0-1
2020-21	36	High right ankle sprain	20	March 21, 2021	April 28, 2021	8-12
2020-21	36	High right ankle sprain	6	May 3, 2021	May 12, 2021	4-2
2021-22	36	Sore right ankle	2	Oct. 26, 2021	Oct. 27, 2021	1-1
2021-22	36	Abdominal strain	8	Nov. 4, 2021	Nov. 17, 2021	3-5
2021-22	36	League suspension	1	Nov. 23, 2021	Nov. 23, 2021	0-1
2021-22	36	Health & Safety Protocols	1	Nov. 30, 2021	Nov. 30, 2021	1-0
2021-22	37	Left knee swelling	3	Jan. 27, 2022	––	0-3
TOTAL			71			27-44

James’ first season in Los Angeles was derailed by a groin injury sustained on Christmas Day. After initially missing 17 games due to the injury, James missed a total of 27 games in the season, with the Lakers shutting him down for the season in late March.

In his second season, James was largely healthy but it’s worth noting that there were no NBA games played from mid-March until late July due to the NBA season shut down. 

Including the most recent games James has missed due to knee swelling, the Lakers have posted a 27-44 record without James.

LA’s troubling trend without James illustrates a need for his return now more than ever.

If history is any indicator, however, he will return from injury ready to help the team make a push through the Play-In Tournament, if nothing else.