Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James will miss the entire preseason due to his sciatica on his right side. Not only that, he’ll miss Opening Night on Oct. 21 against the Golden State Warriors. While fans understand that he’s dealing with injuries, others have different reactions to his absences. Given that he’ll play his 23rd NBA season, missing a few games at the beginning of the new campaign is understandable.
Although it will break his 22-year streak of playing in the first game of the season. Fans still want him to be able to play in front of the fans for the Lakers’ exhibition games. Fortunately for the organization, they’ve decided not to play him until he’s 100% and can make significant contributions to the team.
Luckily for James, there are a few people who understand that he needs time off to recover. Former NBA star Charles Barkley defended James for sitting out games. According to him, he deserves to have the privilege of not playing until he’s fully recovered from his injury.
“I have no problem with a guy being that old sitting out,” Chuck said. “He’s not gonna gain anything in the preseason. LeBron has paid his dues way beyond what he’s done for the NBA. And the Lakers, they just gotta stay healthy for the playoffs. Doesn’t matter what they accomplished during the regular season or anything like that.”
“LeBron, what is he gonna accomplish if he’s playing 20 minutes in the preseason?” he added. “First of all, half the guys he plays against ain’t gonna be in the league in a week and a half. They’re gonna be working somewhere. So no, there’s no need to play at his age.”
LeBron James’ new teammate is “key” to the Lakers’ success, says Charles Barkley
Over the summer, the Lakers added valuable players who they believe could help LeBron James and Luka Doncic contend for the championship this season. One of the players they signed in free agency was Deandre Ayton.
Ayton signed a two-year contract with the Lakers after being acquired by the Portland Trail Blazers. According to Barkley, he believes that the big man’s chemistry with James and Doncic is key to the team’s success.
“The key is going to be Deandre Ayton. He’s got to play well because he’s going to be a free agent. He ran his way out of Phoenix and Portland because he wasn’t happy,” Chuck said. “He’s got to play well. If he can’t play well with Luka and LeBron, he can’t play.“
Barkley emphasized how important it is for Ayton to play strong defense with Doncic and James.
For other sports-related content:
Follow me on X at @BarbecueBro, and follow us at @HardwoodHeroics and @GridironHeroics. You can also reach out to Reign Amurao via email at reignamuraonba@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest sports news, click here!
Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
