LOS ANGELES — While LeBron James was sidelined because of a torn tendon in his right foot, some of the medical experts he consulted doubted whether he would play again this season.
“It was a significant injury,” Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka recalled Tuesday at the team’s practice facility in El Segundo.
James returned to play in each of the Lakers’ last eight regular-season games. He powered his team to the Western Conference finals. There, the Lakers were swept by the Denver Nuggets, but James scored 40 points and played all but 4.3 seconds in the elimination game.
