In the aftermath of the Los Angeles Lakers' 103-96 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves that ended their season, one of the big stories coming out of Game 5 was how much Rudy Gobert dominated them. ESPN's Dave McMenamin quoted one Lakers team source as saying "Gobert looked like Shaq" against them.

Lakers coach JJ Redick said James’ hip injury typically has a recovery period of 1-2 weeks. James scored 38 points in the Game 3 road loss to the Timberwolves on April 25, exactly two weeks after suffering the injury. He was also sidelined for two weeks from early to mid-March because of a strained left groin.

The injury seemingly occurred with 8:39 left in the fourth quarter when James collided with Timberwolves guard Donte DiVincenzo.