Lebron cleared after 2 negative tests
Lebron James has been cleared to return to the Los Angeles Lakers after missing one game under the NBA’S health and safety protocols.
The league said Thursday that James isn’t positive for COVID-19 despite a series of tests that produced conflicting results earlier this week. Additional testing has cleared James to play when the Lakers host the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night.
James got an initial positive test from a sample collected Monday. The sample was retested twice, producing one positive and one negative result. James underwent additional testing Tuesday, and those tests returned one negative result and one clinically inconclusive result, according to the league.
James has said he’s vaccinated. A clear positive test likely would have kept James away from the Lakers for 10 days or more.
James has missed 12 of the Lakers’ 23 games this season, with 10 because of injuries. He also missed one game while serving the first suspension of his 19-year NBA career for an altercation with Detroit’s Isaiah Stewart.
Zion’s return is pushed back
Soreness in Zion Williamson’s surgically repaired right foot derailed plans for the 2020 All-star forward to take part in his first full practice of the season Thursday, team officials said.
Now the plan is to rest the 2019 top overall draft choice for a few days to see if pain subsides, first-year Pelicans coach Willie Green said.
Green said Williamson was “frustrated” by the latest delay.
“It’s something that he’s been going through and working his tail off to come back from,” Green said. “He understands this is a part of it and you have to keep getting over these hurdles.”
Thunder guard has a concussion
Oklahoma City guard Shai Gilgeous-alexander has been placed in the NBA’S concussion protocols, the Thunder said.
Gilgeous-alexander suffered the concussion in Wednesday’s loss to the Houston Rockets, a game in which he scored a season-high 39 points.
He’ll have to clear a series of steps to ensure he’s symptom-free before resuming basketball activities.
Bucks’ Lopez goes under knife
Milwaukee Bucks center Brook Lopez had surgery in Los Angeles to address the back injury that has kept him from playing since the opening game of the season.
Bucks officials said Dr. Robert Watkins performed the surgery, with oversight from team doctor William Raasch.
Team officials didn’t provide a timetable for his return.
Lopez played 28 minutes and had eight points, five rebounds and three blocks in a season-opening victory over the Brooklyn Nets, but the 7-footer hasn’t played since.
He averaged 12.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks last season in helping the Bucks win the NBA title.
Bobby Portis has been filling Lopez’s spot in the starting lineup and has averaged 15.1 points and 8.3 rebounds. The Bucks also signed Demarcus Cousins this week for frontcourt depth.
Love honored by foundation
Kevin Love knows the euphoria of sinking a 3pointer just before the buzzer. But the five-time NBA All-star has had plenty of lows to offset those highs.
“There are days when I don’t want to get out of bed. That’s just the truth,” the Cleveland Cavaliers power forward wrote in 2018 about his lifelong struggles with depression and low self-worth.
On Thursday, the Boston-based Ruderman Family Foundation honored Love with its annual Morton E. Ruderman Award in Inclusion for his work on and off the court to remove the stigma around mental illness.
“Love has repeatedly taken steps to eradicate the mental health stigma by sharing stories of his struggles with depression, anxiety, and other challenges,” the foundation said in a statement.
“When I first spoke out about my mental health struggles, it transformed my life,” Love said Thursday.