LeBron James calls Brandon Ingram having successful surgery ‘a blessing,’ wishes him ‘a speedy, fast recovery’

The past week was about as bad as it could get for the Los Angeles Lakers.

They went 1-3 in the four games they played, and lost by double-digits in each of their losses. However in the midst of all that darkness, there was a glimmer of light in the form of an encouraging Brandon Ingram update.

Last week, the Lakers announced that Ingram would miss the rest of the season with Deep Venous Thrombosis (DVT), more commonly known as blood clots. Blood clots aren’t uncommon in NBA players, but the history behind them is scary. Both Chris Bosh and Mirza Teletovic had to medically retire due to recurring issues with blood clots.

Then, Ingram underwent thoracic outlet decompression surgery to remove the clot and he’s expected to make a full recovery with no recurring issues.

The news came as a relief to not just Lakers fans, but Ingram’s teammates as well. Following the Lakers’ loss to the New York Knicks on Sunday, James expressed relief regarding Ingram’s health, and used it as an opportunity to talk how grateful he is to get to play basketball (via Spectrum SportsNet):

“It’s a blessing that everything was successful. It’s a blessing that you get an opportunity to sit back and just be thankful for this beautiful game that the man above has given us — along with Dr. James Naismith — and I wish B.I. the most speedy, fast recovery that’s possible. But come back healthy more than anything, because your health is your wealth, and that’s all that matters.”

James is absolutely right when it comes to Ingram. While Lakers fans are excited to see Ingram make a full recovery and build on the progress he made this season, his overall livelihood is more important than a game.

Fortunately, it sounds like Lakers fans are going to be able to have their cake and eat it too, as Ingram could reportedly be back on the court as soon as eight weeks from now, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

Get well soon, B.I.

For more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts. You can follow Christian on Twitter at @RadRivas.