LeBron James and Jaylen Brown collide in a Christmas Day game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics.
Jaylen Brown, Los Angeles Lakers, LeBron James, Boston Celtics
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James got tangled up with Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics (who just signed a max contract of his own last offseason). Both players went down on the play, and trainers had to help James and Brown to their feet.
Thankfully, LeBron appears to be okay and is back in the game. James has played for nearly two decades now, and is one of the most accomplished players in NBA history. In the latter stages of his career, LeBron is still talented enough to be one of the core players on a western conference contender.
The Celtics, meanwhile, rely on Brown more than ever. Jaylen has some holes in his game to cover up (such as going to his left on a consistent basis), but he and Tatum are one of the best 1-2 punches in the entire NBA.
LeBron James and Jaylen Brown were shaken up after colliding into each other.James subbed out of the game but later returned. Brown went back to the locker room. pic.twitter.com/O7DS9qW1IG
— ESPN (@espn) December 25, 2023NBA Christmas disaster averted with LeBron James, Jayson Tatum
James is toughing it out, and has a habit for over-exaggerating contact from opposing players. Brown, meanwhile, has been taken to the locker room with a back injury. Brown is averaging nearly 23 points per game on 48 percent shooting so far this year. The Celtics are first in the East at 22-6, just one game better than the Milwaukee Bucks, who lost to the Knicks on Monday.
LeBron and the Lakers haven’t been nearly as productive in non-play in games. While LA has won the play-in tournament, they are ninth in the West despite a 40-point effort from James earlier this week.
“We needed this win,” James said at the time. “We didn’t want to end the road trip in a losing effort. … To come in here to play versus a team that’s been playing extremely well throughout this season, it was a big win for us.”
Thankfully for James, his injury does not appear to be serious. Brown could be a different story.
