LeBron James has seemingly had enough of NBA insiders' attempts to get the scoop on his injury status.
James, who has been out since suffering a foot tendon injury on Feb. 26, was expected to be re-evaluated in late March. On the afternoon of March 23, the Lakers provided an update that James "has begun on-court activity," giving no specific timeline for his return.
Within five minutes of the Lakers update, The Athletic's Shams Charania, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Turner Sports' Chris Haynes all cited sources in reporting that there was a timeline for James to return prior to the end of the season. It didn't take much longer for the reports to get to the desk of James, who immediately pushed back.
"There wasn’t an evaluation today and there hasn’t been any target date for my return," James tweeted. "I’m just working around the clock, every day(3X a day) to give myself to best chance of coming back full strength whenever that is."
MORE: The latest updates on LeBron James' foot injury
James kept it short and simple to close his tweet, saying "God bless y’all sources. I speak for myself!" The message was made complete with a facepalm emoji.
There wasn’t an evaluation today and there hasn’t been any target date for my return. I’m just working around the clock, every day(3X a day) to give myself to best chance of coming back full strength whenever that is. God bless y’all sources. 🤦🏾♂️ I speak for myself!
— LeBron James (@KingJames) March 23, 2023
While James did not mention any reporters by name, his tweet is a clear response to the reports of Charania, Wojnarowski and Haynes, who each provided specific timelines.
Charania reported that James was targeting the "final 3-to-4" games in the regular season, Wojnarowski said it was a "few" games during the regular season's final week and Haynes also said James looked to play in a "few" games to close the year.
At the time of sourcegate, James has missed each of the Lakers' last 12 games. In James' absence, the team has compiled a 7-5 record to remain in the Western Conference playoff picture.
James' self-described around-the-clock work is the first step to returning to the court in order to give L.A. the push it needs in a playoff race that will likely come down to the final day of the season.
MORE: Expert medical analysis on LeBron James' recovery from foot injury
What is LeBron James' injury?
The Lakers announced on March 2 that James sustained a right foot tendon injury and would be reevaluated in approximately three weeks. The team provided an update on March 23, revealing that James had begun on-court activity and "gradual basketball movement progression."
Lakers schedule 2022-23
Here are the Lakers' final games of the 2022-23 season:
| Date | Opponent | Time (ET) | TV channel |
| March 24 | vs. Thunder | 10:30 p.m. | — |
| March 26 | vs. Bulls | 3:30 p.m. | — |
| March 29 | at Bulls | 8:00 p.m. | — |
| March 31 | at Timberwolves | 8:00 p.m. | NBA TV |
| April 2 | at Rockets | 7:00 p.m. | — |
| April 4 | at Jazz | 9:00 p.m. | — |
| April 5 | at Clippers | 10:00 p.m. | ESPN |
| April 7 | vs. Suns | 10:30 p.m. | NBA TV |
| April 9 | vs. Jazz | 3:30 p.m. | — |
