The Los Angeles Lakers are dealing with an unfortunate setback for LeBron James. The team itself confirmed that James will miss the first three to four weeks because of sciatica, which looms large as they have title aspirations.
Among all the hoopla going on from the latest James update, this came out of nowhere even though older NBA players tend to be more susceptible to injury. However, James has actually been dealing with this for some time.
What’s the Latest on LeBron James & His Injury Recovery?
On NBA Today, ESPN’s Shams Charania revealed the full details of when James first suffered the injury and how it affected his offseason.
“This injury for LeBron, his nerve issue first occurred in late-July, early-August during an on-court workout, so it’s now two and a half months and counting that he has had to deal with it and manage it,” Charania said. “Even before the Lakers meet today, on September 29th at the start of training camp, I’m told LeBron James had not done much basketball for well over a month prior to that, so it hasn’t been a normal routine summer for him.”
Charania added that because James has been dealing with this issue for some time, he will need more of it to return to normal.
“He’s a creature of habit. We know that the way he maintains his body, so for him to be out to start this season and miss his first-ever opening night, it shows an admission by him and the Lakers that he needs more time to ramp up, get into basketball shape, getting into the right basketball conditioning, he’s not there yet,” Charania said.
Reporting for NBA Today on LeBron James’ nerve injury set to sideline him into the Lakers 2025-26 season: pic.twitter.com/dMheCIe0EN
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 10, 2025
Since joining the Lakers in 2018, James has missed many games. He has had healthier seasons, where he has played as many as 71 games, but he has also played in fewer games than many are accustomed to seeing from him, as he played as few as 45 games.
With this sciatica issue, it’s unclear how many games James will miss. He will turn 41 on December 30, and this new injury only further exposes that while his age hasn’t significantly affected what he can do on the basketball court, it is affecting how many games he can play.
Even if James is at the end of his NBA career, the Lakers still depend on him to guide them to the promised land. With all the competition in the Western Conference, his absence could be a problem for Los Angeles.