LeBron James will not be participating in the NBA playoffs for the first time since 2005. The Lakers will not be participating in the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season. James and the Lakers officially were eliminated from the playoff race Friday night following a 111-106 defeat by the Brooklyn Nets at Staples Center. James’ near triple-double of 25 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists couldn’t stop the Lakers from being a lottery team yet again, and from sending him home early for the first time since he was a 20-year-old with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Advertisement “I just keep pushing. I just keep preparing myself mentally, no matter if I’m in the lineup or not,” James said. “Obviously it’s been a tough season for all of us. It’s not what we signed up for. But throughout the year, things happened, suspensions, injuries, things of that nature and us just not being able to play sustainable basketball for 48 minutes. But you don’t even try to wrap your head around it. You keep pushing. You see how you can get better tonight and move on to tomorrow and go from there. “Like I said, the playoffs are never promised. You got to go out and work. For me personally, just continue to put the work in and see what you can do to continue to help.” James had appeared in the postseason his last 13 consecutive seasons, and even more impressive, in the last eight NBA Finals, four with the Cavaliers and four with the Miami Heat. But his first season in L.A. has not lived up to expectations, and with 10 regular-season games left, the math is against the Lakers, who are 10½ games behind the eighth-seeded San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference. Lakers ' LeBron James (left), Lonzo Ball (middle) and Josh Hart (right) watch from the sideline. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) The Lakers’ last playoff appearance was in 2013, six long seasons ago — before a franchise-worst stretch of futility that was supposed to stop once the Lakers signed James last summer to a four-year, $153.3-million contract. Not even a career performance by JaVale McGee, with 33 points, 20 rebounds and six blocked shots, could keep the Lakers for losing their fifth straight and their 10th in 11 games. D’Angelo Russell, the former No. 2 overall pick of the Lakers who was traded to the Nets two seasons ago, had 21 points and 12 assists against his old team. Joe Harris, the NBA three-point contest winner, made six of eight threes and scored 26 points. Advertisement Now the question becomes how many more games will James play. He missed the Lakers’ previous game at Milwaukee because of a sore groin. He came back and played 37 minutes against the Nets and actually looked spry and active, though he made just eight of 25 shots, including one for seven from three-point range. “Obviously with us being officially eliminated, I’ll probably have a conversation with the coaching staff, trainer and go from there. But I love to hoop and I’ll have five months to not be able to play the game. So, hopefully I can be in as many games as possible.” Etc. The Lakers said guard Josh Hart will consult with the team’s medical staff and his own doctors about a sore right knee that kept him out of Friday night’s game. When asked if the Hart injury was long term, Lakers coach Luke Walton said it was “for today.” Walton said Hart had not seen any doctors yet. “I get my morning updates,” Walton said. “Sore knee. Out.” … Forward Mike Muscala did not play because of a sore right ankle. Advertisement Sign up for our Lakers newsletter » broderick.turner@latimes.com Twitter @BA_Turner<doc-sep>The inevitable finally happened for the Los Angeles Lakers when they fell to the Brooklyn Nets on Friday. The 111-106 loss officially eliminated the Lakers from the playoff race with 10 games remaining on their schedule. Following the game, LeBron James expressed his frustrations on missing the postseason and admitted "it's not what we signed up for" this season. "Obviously, it's been a tough season for all of us," James said. "It's not what we signed up for. Throughout the year, things happened. Suspensions, injuries, things of that nature. And just not being able to play sustainable basketball for 48 minutes. But you don't even try to wrap your head around it, you just keep pushing. Just try to get better tonight, move on to tomorrow, and go from there. Playoffs are never promised. You've got to come out and work. For me personally, you just continue to put the work in and see what you can do to help." It was certainly a forgettable campaign for the Lakers after having so much promise entering the year. The Lakers, back in action on Sunday against the Kings (9:30 p.m. ET -- watch on fuboTV with the NBA League Pass extension), made a splash in the offseason when they signed James a massive four-year, $154M contract and dominoes began to fall right after. The organization also signed a peculiar host of veterans, including Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, JaVale McGee, Rajon Rondo and Lance Stephenson. Injuries played a large role in the floundering of the team as several players were out of the lineup for significant stretches throughout the season. James, himself, ended up missing 17 consecutive games with a groin strain. In addition, Rajon Rondo missed two separate stretches with multiple hand injuries and was out of the lineup for 31 total games with those injuries, while Lonzo Ball missed a large portion of the season as well due to various injuries. The Lakers also saw Brandon Ingram his season prematurely ended due to a blood clot in his arm. In addition, Ball suffered an ankle sprain that will hold him out for the remainder of the season. So where do LeBron and the Lakers go from here? It's hard to predict who they'll be able to add in free agency, but one has to believe their chances at success next season can only improve.<doc-sep>Andrew D. Bernstein/Getty Images For the first time since 2004-05, there will be an NBA postseason without LeBron James. On Friday night, the Los Angeles Lakers were officially eliminated from playoff contention with a 111-106 loss to the Brooklyn Nets at Staples Center. It marks the sixth consecutive year the team will miss the postseason, a franchise record. Given Los Angeles had lost four in a row and nine of 10, this was a long time coming. But until Friday, the team was mathematically alive. The latest loss drops the Lakers to 31-41 on the season and ensures the team will not finish above .500. Los Angeles' season started off promisingly enough after it signed James during the offseason. It was in fourth place in the Western Conference after improving to 20-14 with a Christmas Day victory over the two-time defending champion Golden State Warriors. However, that win proved costly. James suffered a groin injury during the game and missed a career-long 17-game stretch. The Lakers went just 6-11 without the four-time NBA MVP—and they were never able to recover. Video Play Button Videos you might like James was hardly the only player to miss time because of injury, though. Rajon Rondo has been limited to just 38 games because of hand and finger injuries, and he too missed nearly a month after being hurt on Christmas Day. The Lakers have already shut down Lonzo Ball (ankle) and Brandon Ingram (deep venous thrombosis) for the season. Los Angeles has dealt with no shortage of adversity this season. Not only has it had to overcome injuries, but the team was also engulfed in trade rumors following New Orleans Pelicans star Anthony Davis' public trade request back in late January. Approximately half of the roster found itself in the rumor mill, and team president Magic Johnson later alleged New Orleans did not negotiate in good faith. ESPN's Brian Windhorst told Rachel Nichols on ESPN's The Jump last month that the Pelicans leaked trade talks in order to sabotage the Lakers. Well, Los Angeles was 26-24 prior to the Davis fiasco. It is 5-17 since. As the Lakers' playoff drought continues, James will see a couple of noteworthy streaks come to an end. While he will miss out on the postseason for the first time in 14 years, his run of eight consecutive NBA Finals appearances is also snapped. The last Finals without James came back in 2010, when the Lakers repeated as champions with a seven-game victory over the Boston Celtics.<doc-sep>The Los Angeles Lakers were officially eliminated from playoff contention following a 111-106 loss at the hands of the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night. This will mark the first time LeBron James has failed to qualify for the postseason since 2004-05 -- his second season as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Not only does James' 13-year playoff streak come to an end, so too does his unreal run of eight consecutive NBA Finals appearances. There's certainly been quite a few marquee moments that have occurred around the NBA since LeBron last missed the playoffs 14 years ago. To illustrate just how long it's been since The King has watched the playoffs as a spectator, we take a look back and see what was happening in the NBA at the time LeBron missed the cut, along with what's occurred since around the league. We also examine LeBron's career and how it skyrocketed from that point on. When LeBron last missed the playoffs ... Allen Iverson was the league scoring champ. A.I. was still dominating the NBA for the Philadelphia 76ers during the 2004-05 season, and even won the NBA scoring title. During that spectacular season, the 11-time All-Star guard averaged 30.7 points. Current Lakers coach Luke Walton was playing his second season for the Purple and Gold. LeBron's current head coach started his professional career as a member of the Lakers roster after being the 32nd overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft. While Walton only saw limited minutes during the 2004-05 campaign, he appeared in 61 games and made five starts that season for Los Angeles. Shaq ended his long run with the Lakers. L.A. formed a dynasty during Shaquille O'Neal's tenure with the franchise, but issues between himself and Kobe Bryant eventually led to the front office making a tough decision and breaking up their core. They ended up sending Shaq to the Miami Heat, where he would ultimately help them win their first championship, in exchange for Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, Brian Grant and a future first-round pick. Reggie Miller played his final season in the NBA. After 1,389 regular-season appearances for the Indiana Pacers, Reggie Miller decided to call it quits following the 2004-05 season. However, he was still quite effective despite being 39 years old at the time, averaging 14.8 points per game during his final season as a professional. The Seattle SuperSonics made the playoffs for the final time. With a record of 52-30, the SuperSonics made the postseason for the final time before the franchise relocated to Okhaloma City a few years later. Led by Ray Allen, Seattle won the Northwest Division and defeated the Sacramento Kings in the first round before being bounced in the Western Conference semifinal by the San Antonio Spurs, who went on to win the NBA title. Since LeBron last missed the playoffs ... The underachieving Warriors transformed into a dynasty. Speaking of the Warriors, Golden State certainly wasn't always this great. In fact, it was quite the opposite for many years. Before this franchise took the league by storm, it made the playoffs just once between 1994 and 2013. Stephen Curry, drafted in 2010, didn't see the playoffs until his fourth season. While then-coach Mark Jackson led the Warriors to the postseason in back-to-back seasons, he was ultimately fired in favor of Steve Kerr. Since Kerr took over, the Warriors have gone to the NBA Finals in four consecutive seasons and won three NBA titles during that stretch. In addition, Golden State has won back-to-back titles with its eye on a three-peat. We witnessed the rebirth of superteams. Now, before the Warriors began their current dynasty, franchises like the Boston Celtics, Miami Heat and LeBron's very own Cleveland Cavaliers elected to restart the trend by loading their rosters with superstars, then fill out the remaining spots in the rotation with veteran role players who chose the opportunity to compete for championships over big-money deals with other teams. No team has done it better than the Warriors in recent years, but several franchises have certainly tried their hand at putting together their own "superteams." The one-and-done era began LeBron, of course, never played in college, going straight from St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio to the Cleveland Cavaliers when he was picked No. 1 overall in 2003. Just a few years later, however, the NBA moved away from the practice of drafting high school students, instituting a new rule in 2006 which mandated that in order for players to be eligible for the draft, they must be 19 years old, and be a year removed from their high school graduation class. That rule doesn't mandate that kids go to college -- they can play overseas, in the G-League or simply take the year off and work-out -- but most opt to play in the NCAA for one season. Which has resulted in the so-called one-and-done era, as top recruits roll into school for one season before moving on to the NBA. Interestingly enough, that rule could be changed again soon. Adam Silver has talked about it, and the players association has proposed a change as well. Coach K and Team USA dominated In the 2004 Olympics, the United States men's national basketball team struggled through a disappointing performance, going just 3-2 in the group stage -- including a loss to Puerto Rico -- before finishing with the bronze medal. It was the first time since 1988 that they hadn't won the gold, and resulted in systematic changes to the national team system. Legendary Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski was brought in to run the show, and since then the U.S. hasn't lost a single game at the Olympics, winning gold in 2008, 2012 and 2016. The NBA's dress code changed At the start of the 2005-06 season, the NBA instituted a new dress code that said, "players are required to wear Business Casual attire whenever they are engaged in team or league business." Most notably, it banned items like chains and pendants, sunglasses, jerseys or baggy clothes.<doc-sep>
LeBron James will not be a part of the NBA Playoffs for the first time since 2005 after the Lakers were eliminated from playoff contention on Saturday. The Los Angeles Lakers were officially eliminated from playoff contention after a 111-106 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday, making it six-straight seasons without postseason basketball. For LeBron James, it's the first time he's missed the playoffs since 2005 - a run that includes eight consecutive Finals appearances - falling short after a much-anticipated debut season in the purple and gold. "Obviously it's been a tough season for all of us," James said following the defeat, via ESPN's Dave McMenamin. "It's not what we signed up for. "Throughout the year, things happened. Suspensions, injuries, things of that nature. And just not being able to play sustainable basketball for 48 minutes. But you don't even try to wrap your head around it, you just keep pushing. Just try to get better tonight, move on to tomorrow and go from there. Playoffs are never promised. You've got to come out and work. For me personally, you just continue to put the work in and see what you can do to help." MORE: What went wrong for the Lakers? | What's next for the Lakers? Since the All-Star break, the Lakers are 3-12 and have had the league's third-worst offence, per NBA.com, with injuries to Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball further compounding their struggles. While James himself missed 17 games after suffering a groin injury on Christmas Day against the Golden State Warriors, the 34-year-old has no plans of shutting it down for the remainder of the season, admitting that he may scale back his minutes over the remaining 10 games of the season. "I'm probably going to have a conversation with the coaching staff and my trainer and go from there," he said. "But I love to hoop. S-, I'm going to have five months and not play the game. So, you know, hopefully I can be in as many games as possible." Despite the turbulent season, James produced strong numbers across the board, averaging 27.4 points, 8.5 rebounds and 8.1 assists across 52 games.