LeBron James shed some light over his recent absence after he made a winning return to action for the Los Angeles Lakers.

James, who turns 40 later this month, had been out for eight days, but made his comeback on Sunday against the Memphis Grizzlies.

He played his part in a 116-100 win, tallying up 18 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.

James revealed it was not necessarily his decision to sit out, with coach JJ Redick having previously said the NBA's all-time regular-season points leader was missing due to personal reasons.

However, James said it was to nurse a sore left foot.

"If it was up to just me, I probably would've played," said James, who is in his 22nd season in the NBA.

"It would've been hard to keep me away from it. I have a team and I got to listen to them as well. They look out for my best interest.

"A lot of rehabbing, a lot of training still to make sure that I was ready to go. I didn't want to get too much out of shape.

"I had an opportunity to take more days and get my mind, body and everything where I wanted it to be, and it worked out."

Final

AD: 40 pts, 16 reb, 2 stl
AR: 19 pts, 8 ast, 2 stl
Bron: 18 pts, 8 reb, 8 ast pic.twitter.com/nLXnl9bqe3

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) December 16, 2024

Anthony Davis was the Lakers' standout performer, finishing with 40 points and 16 rebounds, but he credited James with getting more out of his teammates.

"[James] had some energy, which kind of brought energy to us," Davis said.

"He's obviously dealing with some stuff. But I think a week off kind of just let him heal and get back right."

With James' soreness lingering, Redick is planning to manage his games carefully.

"Not necessarily less minutes, but shorter runs so that he's not getting gassed and then quicker segments on the bench and then he's back in," Redick explained.