(Photo credit: Shutterstock.com / Kathy Hutchins)
LeBron James is set to return to the court on Dec. 3, 2021, against the Los Angeles Clippers.
After the NBA placed him on the safety protocols list, the Los Angeles Lakers forward tweeted something “fishy” was going on. He missed one game under the protocol.
On Dec. 2, the NBA released a statement that revealed James returned two negative PCR tests more than 24 hours apart, which cleared him under the league’s rules.
“James was originally placed in the Protocols on Tuesday, Nov. 30 after a series of tests delivered conflicting results, including an initial positive test that was collected on Nov. 29,” the league’s statement read. “Additional testing confirmed that he is not a positive case.”
The 19-year NBA veteran has previously said he was vaccinated.
If the original positive test would have stood on its own, James would have had to sit out for 10 days. After the initial announcement of James being placed on safety protocols, ESPN switched its national television game on Dec. 3 from Lakers-Clippers to the Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors.
James has missed 10 games due to an injury and was suspended for one game for striking Isaiah Stewart in the face on a box-out attempt at the free-throw line. Per the Associated Press, the Lakers are 7-4 with him and 5-7 without him.
