LeBron James out for Lakers against Bucks with ankle injury

After exiting Wednesday’s game against the Kings early, LeBron James will be out for the Lakers against the Bucks on Friday.

Coming off a frustrating loss against the Kings on Wednesday, the Lakers were dealt another blow ahead of Friday’s game against the Bucks. LeBron James will be out for the contest, the team announced hours before the game, as he continues to deal with the ankle injury that has plagued him most of the season.

Notably, LeBron exited that game against the Kings early with a limp and headed straight to the locker room. While the Lakers were still losing, that LeBron left with time on the clock and the game not totally out of reach indicated how serious the injury was.

Initially, he said postgame he was “alright” and nothing necessarily indicated the injury was worse. Instead, he discussed that the injury can not bother him one game — as he said it didn’t against the Thunder — and flare up on another night.

Either the latter of that is true and it flared up again or the injury was perhaps a bit more serious than he led on considering he will not play Friday. Initially, he was listed as questionable, the designation that he’s had most of the season, which further indicated that he was, indeed, “alright.” However, that clearly wasn’t the case.

The concern now is looking past Friday’s game. The Lakers will be back in action on Sunday against the Timberwolves, who were dealt their own injury blow recently with Karl-Anthony Towns. After that, the team will be off until they travel to Sacramento on Wednesday. The good news is that LeBron can rehab at home and in the Lakers facility during this span.

It’s a tricky time for the Lakers as they navigate this LeBron injury while also trying to fight their way out of the play-in race. And they’re doing it all amidst one of the toughest stretches of opponents this season. Even if the games are all coming at home, it’s another injury-induced challenge for the Lakers in a season full of so, so many of them.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.