LeBron James missed the Cleveland Cavaliers' morning shootaround with a cold but started Monday night against the Denver Nuggets.
"I've been better," James said before the game, "but I'm in the lineup so, I'm all right."
James said he's had the head cold for the past couple of days and it was brought about by a combination of tending to his newborn baby girl and the recent change of weather in Cleveland.
He added that he never considered sitting out the Nuggets game.
"I'm walking, so I'm in the lineup," James said, explaining his health threshold necessary to play.
James was named the NBA's Eastern Conference player of the week Monday, setting a league record for player of the week honors with his 46th such award.
"It means, first of all, that you're winning, and I'm happy to be a part of a team that wins," James said. "My teammates have given me an opportunity to go on and do what I need to do to help them win and for me to be successful individually. So, anytime I'm awarded that award, it's very humbling, and I seen today I was No. 1 in league history, so I've been doing something right. Hopefully I can just continue that and continue to stay healthy, continue to help my teammates win."
Entering Monday, James was averaging 39 minutes a game this season through eight games, higher than his per-game averages over the previous four seasons. He was on a hot streak, averaging 31.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 8.5 assists over his previous four games.
The Cavs were on a four-game win streak and are in the midst of a three-game homestand. James and the team were off Sunday following a back-to-back.
"I think the week that he had speaks for itself," Cavaliers coach David Blatt said. "I thought the more interesting story was that it was the 46th time that he's actually been player of the week. That's an NBA all-time record if I'm not mistaken. I think that's the significant message, and it just speaks to the true definition of greatness, which is consistency, things that you over and over do well and on a consistent basis. It really speaks for itself."
ESPN.com's Dave McMenamin contributed to this report.