James is dealing with sciatica on his right side and will be reevaluated in about 3-4 weeks, meaning the team will play five to nine games without him.
The Lakers announced on Thursday afternoon that LeBron James will be sidelined for at least 3-4 weeks because of nerve pain, meaning James won’t be available for the start of the 2025-26 season.
The team’s statement, which was released after practice concluded, said James will be reevaluated in about 3-4 weeks because of sciatica on his right side, and that any further updates will be provided at that time.
The timeline provided by the Lakers means the team is scheduled to play five to nine games before LeBron is expected to be reevaluated, including the Oct. 21 regular-season opener against the Golden State Warriors at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
The 40-year-old star forward, who is entering an unprecedented 23rd NBA season, has never previously missed a season opener.
He has already played the most combined regular-season and playoff career minutes in league history (71,103), and is 49 games behind Robert Parish (1,611) for the most regular-season games played in league history. James already holds the record for most combined regular-season and playoff games played (1,854).
James had been a modified participant in practices since training camp started last week, mainly doing individual work, after Coach JJ Redick said James had been dealing with nerve irritation in his glute and that a cautious approach was being taken to James’ ramp-up for the upcoming season.
When asked on Thursday whether there was a plan for James in the preseason, about 1½ hours before the Lakers released their statement, Redick responded that James was “on his own timeline.
