BOSTON: LeBron James didn’t sound overly concerned after straining his groin in the waning minutes of Los Angeles’ 111-101 loss to Boston on Saturday night.
He also wasn’t willing to put a timetable on how fast he could be back on the court as the Lakers look to maintain their recent surge in the standings.
“Not much concern,” James said. “Obviously, I’m day-to-day. I’ll look at it each day and see if it gets better, and take the proper measures to see what I need to do moving forward.”
James exited during a timeout with 6:44 to play after contesting a layup by Jaylen Brown. He walked gingerly to the huddle during an ensuing timeout and then barely moved before making his way to the locker room with trainers. He finished with 22 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists.
He said his first thoughts went to his first season in Los Angeles in 2018 when he suffered a groin injury during a Christmas Day matchup with Golden State. He missed the next 17 games and the injury bothered him for most of the remainder of the season
“I’ve been there before and I know what type of injury we’re dealing with.,” James said.
The good news is he doesn’t believe this latest injury is as severe as the 2018 one.
He also said he thought about former teammate Anthony Davis, who incurred his current groin injury in his first game in Dallas following his trade for Luka Doncic.
“That’s crazy. But I thought about AD,” James said.
Doncic just wants James to give the injury the rest it needs.
“Obviously, he’s got to take his time,” Doncic said. “Those injuries, I won’t say are the worse, but they’re tough to deal with.”
In the meantime James has confidence that his team, which had its eight-game win streak snapped by Boston, can fill in the gaps as it looks to maintain its place in the West standings. The Lakers (40-22) fell to third place behind Denver after Saturday’s loss and face a tough upcoming stretch.
The Lakers continue a four-game trip Monday night at Brooklyn. It concludes with matchups at Milwaukee and Denver on Thursday and Friday. They then return home March 16 for a four-game homestand that begins with Phoenix and bookends with return visits from the Nuggets and Bucks.
“It doesn’t matter who’s in the lineup, we have to play our game,” James said. “We’ve had guys in and out of the lineup the majority of the year. And we’ve had guys in and out of the lineup the last six weeks. ... Nothing changes.”
LeBron James has ‘not much concern’ after exiting loss to Celtics with late groin injury
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LeBron James has ‘not much concern’ after exiting loss to Celtics with late groin injury
- LeBron James didn’t sound overly concerned about the strained groin that he suffered in the waning minutes of Los Angeles’ loss to Boston
- He also wasn’t willing to put a timetable on how fast he could be back on the court as the Lakers look to maintain their recent surge in the standings
McIlroy eyes 5th Dubai Desert Classic crown to mark 20 years at Emirates Golf Club
- The Northern Irishman rounded off a stellar season last year with career Grand Slam
DUBAI: Rory McIlroy has revealed his focus for the 2026 DP World Tour campaign as he targets his fifth Rolex Series title at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic.
The world No. 2 enjoyed a year to remember in 2025, becoming the sixth male player in history to complete the career Grand Slam with victory at the Masters last April.
The Northern Irishman added further silverware in September by claiming his second Amgen Irish Open title before playing a pivotal role in helping Team Europe retain the Ryder Cup in a dramatic contest at Bethpage Black in New York.
He rounded off a stellar season by lifting the Harry Vardon Trophy for a seventh time, confirming his status as Europe’s Number One.
Despite a momentous year, the 36-year-old insists he will not rest on his laurels and will bring the same hunger and enthusiasm to every event.
“I think I need to show up at tournaments with enthusiasm every single time,” said McIlroy. “Playing in the places that I want to play, playing the tournaments I want to play. Not feeling like I’m at a tournament because I’m obligated or have to be there, but because I want to be there.
“I think it’s bringing that attitude and knowing my limitations. I’ve always said the results will take care of themselves if you do the other things right, and I think this year my focus is just doing the other things right. Then I feel like I’m a good enough golfer that the results will take care of themselves.”
His enduring affinity with the Middle East was on display again at last week’s Dubai Invitational, where he finished two shots behind winner Nacho Elvira in a share of third. That result extended his remarkable record in the UAE to seven victories, eight runner-up finishes and 37 top 10 results.
This week also marks 20 years since McIlroy made his debut at Emirates Golf Club as a 16-year-old amateur, as he sets his sights on capturing the iconic Dallah Trophy for an unprecedented fifth time.
“I love Dubai. It holds so many great memories for me, first of which was coming here as a 16-year-old and playing in the Dubai Desert Classic for the first time as an amateur, and I played twice as an amateur,” he added.
“In 2007, I made the cut, and that got me to world number one in the amateur rankings, and two years later, I won my first professional event here. So it’s a lot of great memories. I’ve met a lot of great people along the way. Honestly, I’ve always felt like it was a perfect place to start the year.”
Meanwhile, Tyrrell Hatton admitted returning to the Hero Dubai Desert Classic as defending champion felt “surreal” as he prepared for his first start on the 2026 Race to Dubai.
The 34-year-old edged New Zealand’s Daniel Hillier by one shot to claim his eighth DP World Tour title at last year’s event, and the world No. 21 has again highlighted the tournament as a priority on his schedule.
“It’s always great to be here playing this event. This is my 13th year on Tour, and this was always one of the events I looked forward to playing or hoped that I would play in one day,” said Hatton.
“I remember as a kid, I’d wake up early before going to school and I’d enjoy watching this event on TV. So to play in this event and to come back here as defending champion is somewhat surreal, but very special and I always enjoy starting my season here.
“This is a massive event for me. This is a tournament that I always look forward to playing in. Off the top of my head, I don’t think I’ve missed this event since I got my Tour card. I love playing here. I’d love to give myself a good chance to defend the title this week.”
Victory in Dubai would see Hatton move clear of Ryder Cup team-mate Jon Rahm as the most successful Rolex Series player since its inception in 2017, with both players locked on five triumphs.
“I’ve just been lucky that I’ve played well in the big events. I’m proud of my record to win five Rolex Series, and three wins at the Dunhill as well is really special,” he said. “The events I’ve been lucky enough to win, they are all pretty prestigious with the Tour, so something I’m proud of.”
Past champion Viktor Hovland opened his 2026 campaign with a top 25 finish at the Nedbank Golf Challenge in honor of Gary Player in December, and despite remaining in the evolution of his swing, the Norwegian is also optimistic for the season ahead.
“I would say I managed things better towards the end of year. I had some better results and found a bit more consistency,” said Hovland.
“I took a few weeks off at the end of the year and (have) been out here the past couple weeks just practicing and getting ready. Grant (Waite) came out here last week, and I think we really got down to, how do I actually solve this problem? And as soon as I found the feel for it, it started looking almost like it did back in the day.
“It might be a little bit too quick this week, but I’m really happy with just how things are trending. I think this year is going to be a good one.”
