LeBron James Cleared to Play for Lakers Again After Two Negative COVID Tests, NBA Says
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James has now been cleared to play again as the NBA declared he was free of COVID-19.
According to TMZ, the NBA said that James is now out of the league's health and safety protocols following two negative PCR tests conducted more than 24 hours apart.
James was placed in the NBA's health and safety protocols on Tuesday after he had recorded a positive COVID test. He was forced to miss the Los Angeles Lakers win over the Kings in Sacramento at the time.
TMZ earlier reported that the Lakers star was sent home to Los Angeles from the Lakers' road trip in Northern California after his third, a tiebreaker test, came back positive.
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NBA Says LeBron James Placed in Safety Protocol Over 'Conflicting Results'
In a statement on Thursday, the NBA said LeBron James was placed in the protocols after a series of tests delivered conflicting results, including an initial positive test collected on November 29.
The league noted that the sample that produced the initial positive test was re-run twice "in accordance with the protocols, and the consistent testing practice that has been in place since the 2019-20 Season Restart in Orlando."
Then it returned one negative and one positive result on two different PCR instruments, the NBA said.
"As a result, James underwent additional testing on November 30, with one test returning a negative result and a second test resulting in a clinically inconclusive result," the league added.
Since James recorded multiple negative tests the past two days, the NBA cleared him to play for the Lakers again.
Under NBA's rule, any player who tests positive for COVID-19 must either sit out of the matches for at least 10 days or submit at least two negative PCR test results before they can play again.
LeBron James Posts Cryptic Message on Twitter
The NBA's announcement came after LeBron James posted on Twitter a cryptic message. The Lakers star tweeted that something "REAL fishy" is going on.
The player did not particularly mention the word "fishy," but he placed several fish emojis to illustrate his point.
🤔Something is REAL 🐠 🐟 🎣 🐟🐠 going on
— LeBron James (@KingJames) December 1, 2021
Some of his fans quickly reacted to his tweet. One Twitter user called James "LeConspiracyTheorist," while another user hoped that the NBA superstar's tweet was not "an AntiVax take."
LeConspiracyTheorist
— cryptic incognito (@CrypticNoHoes) December 1, 2021
I PRAY this isn’t an AntiVax take like a lot of comments think it is
— Andrew G Chapple (@AndrewGChapple) December 2, 2021
When LeBron James missed their match against Sacramento Kings on Tuesday, Los Angeles Lakers head coach Frank Vogel said The King's absence was a "huge loss" for the team.
"Obviously it's a huge loss... It's disappointing. We just want the best for him right now. That's where our thoughts are. And we have the next-man-up mindset," Vogel noted.
However, at the time, Vogel did not reveal if LeBron James has a COVID or exhibited any symptoms of the virus. ESPN earlier reported that James was expected to miss several games while not confirming that the Lakers star tested positive for COVID.
With the NBA's announcement, LeBron James is eligible to play in his team's next game against the LA Clippers on Friday night.
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This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Joshua Summers
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