After a shaky 1-5 preseason, the Los Angeles Lakers had their fans worried about how they would look once the real games began. Now fast forward a few weeks, and those doubts have been silenced.
The Lakers are rolling with a 7-2 start to the 2025-26 NBA season. But even with their hot form, there’s been one prominent absence. LeBron James still hasn’t touched the court. However, a new insider report has shed light on his situation, sparking fresh intrigue across the league.
What Has Been Revealed Regarding LeBron James?
At the start of the season, it was announced that James would miss the Lakers’ opening night of his record 23rd NBA season due to sciatica, a nerve-related issue affecting his lower back and right side.
The Lakers said he would be re-evaluated in three to four weeks. At that point, head coach JJ Redick told reporters that James was “on his own timeline” and hadn’t participated in a full team practice since training camp began. Soon after, the Lakers released a recovery timeline that suggested James could miss at least the first five or six games, and possibly more.
Many fans believed he’d be back by early November, yet six days into the month, the King is still out, and the latest update brings an unexpected twist.
According to a latest report by ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, James continues to train individually as he works through the lower-back and right-side irritation associated with sciatica.
The next checkpoint is clear: to dive into live, full-speed 5-on-5 in practice. For this, James will not travel with the Lakers on their upcoming five-game road trip, which includes stops in Atlanta, Charlotte, Oklahoma City, New Orleans, and Milwaukee. But that’s not the only headline-grabber.
There’s a scenario in which James links up with the South Bay Lakers, the franchise’s G League affiliate, for practice reps while the NBA club is away. The South Bay will be holding sessions at the Lakers’ El Segundo facility, providing James with a controlled and convenient on-court environment. Whether he jumps into those workouts or waits for the main group to return remains to be seen.
“If it happens when the team’s away, maybe it happens with the G League group and getting some reps with them. It will be funny to get the alert, if we got the alert, like, ‘LeBron James has been assigned to the South Bay Lakers,'” said Lakers insider Jovan Buha on his podcast.
Last season, James averaged 24.4 points, 8.2 assists, and 7.8 rebounds across 70 games. He exercised his $52.6 million player option for 2025-26, which was a decision that ignited summer debate about how he’d approach the year.
At the time, word was that he would be “closely monitoring” the Lakers’ trajectory before fully committing to his long-term outlook, which has fueled the current fan chatter that this injury absence might also serve as a strategic vantage point to evaluate the team.
If that’s the case, the early returns are persuasive. Without James, the Lakers are thriving. Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves have clicked immediately as a high-octane backcourt duo. Dončić has averaged 40.0 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 9.2 assists over his last five games. In comparison, Reaves has taken his play to another level as he has posted 31.1 points, 9.3 assists, and 5.1 rebounds in seven outings, including a jaw-dropping 51-point performance against Sacramento.
Next up is Atlanta on Saturday, and all eyes will be on how the Lakers perform in that game.
