The hits just keep on coming for the Los Angeles Lakers.
First, they lost in the opening round of the NBA playoffs to the lower-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves, and LeBron James sustained a knee injury in Game 5 that would’ve kept him out of some of the postseason had they advanced.
Now, the Lakers have lost their Met Gala representation thanks to that same injury. James broke the news himself on social media on Monday, hours before the start of the event, saying that he wouldn’t make it because of his injury.
James sprained his MCL in the fourth quarter of last week’s eventual 103-96 loss and briefly exited before returning to play the final 7:23 of regulation. A postgame medical analysis revealed that there was more to the injury than initially believed, to the point that James’ record streak of 292 consecutive postseason games played across his 22 seasons would have ended with a missed Game 6, if there had been one.
[MORE: This Met Gala is filled with pro athletes. Dressing them is a unique challenge]
Thankfully, James’ family will still be represented at this year’s Met Gala. No, not by Bronny James:
Over the last few years, more and more athletes have received coveted invites to the annual fundraiser. This year, sports are at the forefront with Formula 1 star Lewis Hamilton as a co-chair. James was serving as an honorary chair.
Earlier this year, the Met announced it would revive a host committee for the evening, which will include Chicago Sky star Angel Reese and Olympic gold medalists Simone Biles and Sha’Carri Richardson.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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