When LeBron James slipped in the third quarter of a Christmas Day matchup with the Golden State Warriors, the season flashed before the Los Angeles Lakers’ collective eyes. He was diagnosed with a groin strain and considered day-to-day.
There was initial optimism James would make a relatively speedy recovery, but his absence stretched nearly six weeks and a total of 17 games. The Lakers went 6-11 during that stretch, a majority of which was also played without Rajon Rondo because he too was injured on Christmas.
After steadily increasing his level of activity in practices and shootarounds, James returned Thursday against the Clippers.