When competing at the highest level, no athlete wants to get injured, especially in a major tournament that only happens once every four years like the Olympics. However, there are some injuries that athletes would rather have than encounter more serious problems, which just happened to captain LeBron James of the US basketball team.

The Los Angeles Lakers superstar took an accidental elbow to the temple, almost touching his eyelid and drawing blood in the quarterfinal match against Brazil. The collision left LeBron James stunned and briefly collapsed on the court. He was taken to the locker room with the medical team.

According to the head coach of the US team, Mr. Steve Kerr, LeBron received 4 stitches from doctors right in the stadium. Although the 39-year-old captain returned to the area with his teammates shortly after, he did not enter the field for another second.

Speaking to reporters, head coach Steve Kerr said he and the team were relieved that it was just a soft tissue injury. LeBron James added: “Luckily I’m fine, nothing serious. It was just an accidental elbow situation.”

With 17 minutes on the field, LeBron James had 12 points with 5-6 FGs and 9 assists. The US captain also had 3 rebounds and 3 steals, and his teammates won easily 122-87 to enter the semi-finals.

Thanks to being among the top four teams in the 2024 Olympic basketball tournament, the US team will play the final two matches of the tournament. The first will be the semi-final match between the US and Serbia at 2:00 a.m. on Friday, August 9.

If they win the semi-finals, they will enter the gold medal match at 2:00 a.m. on August 11. In case they lose, they will still play the bronze medal match at 4:30 p.m. on August 10.