Darvin Ham says LeBron James is experiencing “some really significant soreness” in his left foot.
Ham made the comments to reporters ahead of Lakers-Nets in Brooklyn on Monday, adding that the Lakers wanted to get James’ soreness well and truly under control before he returns to the court.
Ham said James’ foot would be evaluated first thing Tuesday morning in order to determine his availability against the Knicks.
A league suspension kept him off the court for the Lakers’ only visit to Madison Square Garden last season, and he has long relished playing there.
James is also just 117 points behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring record.
If he returned to the court against the Knicks and scored his season average from there on out, he would surpass Kareem against the Oklahoma City Thunder at home on February 7.
If he scored his career average instead, he would clinch the record against the Milwaukee Bucks in LA.
But sitting out against New York and beyond could put him at risk of not being able to celebrate the milestone during a home game.