LeBron James Steps Away From Lakers for “Personal Reasons”

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Why LeBron James Is Considering Retiring From the NBA

LeBron James is taking some time off the court.

The Los Angeles Lakers power forward missed their game against the Portland Trail Blazers Dec. 6 due to a sore foot, and he may not be back in time to play against the Minnesota Timberwolves Dec. 13.

"LeBron is not with the team right now," Lakers coach JJ Redick told reporters after practice Dec. 11, per ESPN. "He's out for personal reasons, excused absence."

E! News has reached out to the athlete's rep for comment and has not heard back.

Unfortunately, sitting out their match against the Washington team means the 40-year-old will no longer play all 82 games, which was his goal at the beginning of the season. It wasn't easy for the Lakers, as teammate Max Christie noted that they've had to adjust without LeBron at practice.

"Having a leader like that that's not here is tough, but I know some of that stuff is out of our control," he explained. "It's a next-man-up mentality, still, even in practice. The guys still competed really hard even though he wasn't here. There was some good leadership, there was good vocalization for us as a team, good collaboration, so it was a good practice."

Meanwhile, Christian Koloko also emphasized his complete confidence in LeBron when he returns.

"We know he already knows everything," he said. "He's going to come back and he's still going to be the same. He's going to give everything on the court."

It seems LeBron hasn't been on his A-game this season, with his performance each game declining, according to ESPN. Looking at the team's future, JJ previously admitted that he wasn't sure LeBron would be up to play every game this season after the Lakers lost to the Timberwolves earlier this month.

"I don't know that's in the best interest of him and us if he does that, but if he's feeling well and feeling good, then he should play," the coach explained to reporters after the game, per the outlet. "But we obviously want to ... manage that as best we can."

Paras Griffin/Getty Images

Despite the ups and downs of the athlete's seasons, he's had some major moments. In fact, LeBron—who shares kids Bronny James, 20, Bryce James, 17, and Zhuri James, 10, with wife Savannah James—couldn't help but gush over his eldest joining him on the Lakers in October.

"Pure joy man," he said when asked how he feels about playing with Bronny in a clip on social media. "I don't have any words. I can speak about me when it comes to him. I'm just a loss for words. Just super proud of him to get to this point. He's a man, and he's ready to go."

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