LOS ANGELES -- LeBron James said his ongoing left ankle soreness, which kept him out of the 2025 All-Star Game, will be something he has to manage for the rest of the season.

"It's gonna be something that we gotta manage for the rest of the season and going into the postseason," James said after the Lakers' 100-97 loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday. "But I was happy I was able to get some days off and kind of be around the clock. And make sure I was available for tonight."

James missed the Lakers' 124-117 win over the Pacers on Feb. 8 with left ankle soreness.

Lakers coach JJ Redick told reporters at practice on Tuesday that James has been dealing with left foot/ankle soreness all season.

"It's something that we've managed all year and it was sore over the weekend," Redick said. "He was able to do most of practice today. But like it's been all year, like it's a day-to-day thing, that's just something we've had to manage or continue to manage throughout the rest of the year."

It didn't affect James against the Hornets, as he scored 26 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished 11 assists. He hit a 3-pointer with 6.1 seconds left to give the Lakers a chance to tie the game after fouling, but he missed both 3-point looks on the final possession.

The backdrop to Wednesday's matchup was it was the first game between the Lakers and Hornets since the Lakers rescinded their trade for Mark Williams on Feb. 8. James dunked on Williams midway through the fourth quarter to tie the game.

"He was never a teammate," James said of Williams. "He never stepped into the locker room. He never came (in). We never seen him. We know the trade went down, but we never seen him. So when it got rescinded, it was just back to what it was before. So it was no different."

The Lakers fell to 32-21 after the loss. They play at Portland on Thursday.