Hours before Thursday’s 9:30 p.m. ET tip-off, Flair posted on X that James would prevail against Oklahoma City with or without injured Luka Doncic.
Flair’s support followed his criticism of Doncic, sidelined since 2 April with a Grade 2 hamstring strain and no clear return timeline, after the Lakers lost Game 1 108-90.
James scored 27 points in the opener, but the fourth-seeded Lakers need a Game 2 win to avoid a 0-2 deficit against defending champions the Thunder in the Western Conference semi-finals.
Should a star's $50M salary dictate playing through a high-risk injury?
With treatments like PRP, is the 'play through pain' mentality obsolete?
Is an athlete's psychological readiness the biggest untold story in injury recovery?