3:20 AM
After his first game back in the Lakers' loss to the LA Clippers on Friday night, James said he was confused, frustrated and angry.
James missed the Lakers' game against the Kings on Tuesday after returning a positive test for Covid-19 that required him to fly back to L.A. alone.
"I knew I was going to get cleared because I never, ever felt sick at all," James said after finishing with 23 points, 11 rebound, 6 assists and 2 steals against the Clippers. I thought it was handled poorly.
James said he tested negative on Tuesday and then positive on Wednesday. The league reintroduced more rigorous testing to its teams after Thanksgiving, hoping to catch any cases that could have arisen from players expanding their circles around family and friends.
When you have a positive test, they'll test you right away to make sure. There was no follow-up test after my positive test. You've been put into protocol after being isolated. That's the part that made me angry. I had to find a way to get home. They wouldn't allow anyone to travel with me when I returned from Sacramento.
I had to put my kids in isolation for the time being, and the people in my household in isolation for the time being, so it was just a big-time hassle. That was the anger part.
James was cleared to return to the lineup on Thursday afternoon after returning a second negative test within a 24 hour window. Sources told ESPN that James had eight negative tests after he returned to L.A.
The NBA will be following in the footsteps of the league that did not require its players to receive the vaccine, but will be implementing stricter testing and social-distancing rules for those who were not.
James was asked if he had received a booster shot and if the process he went through over the past several days affected his thinking on getting the shot.
We've all been following the protocols that have been given to us and taking the tests that are required. It's unfortunate when you get a false positive, and you're put into isolation. It's the unfortunate part. We'll see what happens.
The Lakers had a two-game winning streak snapped by the Clippers, who came into the night having lost six of their previous eight games.
James admitted that his rhythm has been affected by the stop-and-go nature of his season, and that he didn't pick up a basketball from the time L.A.'s game against the Detroit Pistons ended on Sunday until shootaround on Friday. He missed two games because of an ankle injury. He missed the next eight games because of an abdominal strain, after playing in the Lakers' next three games. He missed a game because of the first suspension of his 19-year career. He missed the Kings game after playing three games.
James said that he was getting into a good rhythm going into Sacramento. It's been very frustrating because of the groin or the abdomen, and then having to deal with the false positive that knocked me out a game, and not being able to keep my rhythm. It's been a challenge to start a fourth of the season for me. Only good things to come.
The Lakers will play their next game on Tuesday at home against a Boston Celtics team that beat L.A. soundly in November.
"Especially when you're not in the lineup and you don't have a reason to be out, it's tough," Anthony Davis said. We were playing well. It's frustrating, but no one is sorry for us. We're not sorry for ourselves. We have to play basketball with whoever is available.
