LeBron James may not be fully healthy for the Los Angeles Lakers during training camp. The Lakers star dealt with a grade 2 MCL sprain in their first-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2025 NBA playoffs. Over the summer, he has addressed the concern regarding his body. In the upcoming training camp for the team, James hinted that he might not give it his all until he’s fully healthy.
Injuries haven’t been the main issue for James throughout his career. He’s never suffered any serious setbacks and has remained healthy in his 23 years in the NBA. But since he’s on the older side of the league, Father Time has started to catch up, making him vulnerable to such injuries.
Nevertheless, James has not felt the need to retire as a result of the injuries he has had in recent seasons. Instead, he’s done everything to overcome them.
During the Lakers’ media day on Monday, LeBron James talked about his current injury.
“That’s always the challenge: How can I get my body close to 100 percent?” he said. “Obviously, coming off the MCL sprain last year, obviously, the foot has kind of given me a little problem from time to time throughout the course of the last few seasons. So, that’s always the challenge of seeing how I can get my body as close to 100 percent where I can go out and perform at a high level.”
James is unsure about his participation in the team’s training camp. But he knows that his presence is also needed.
“I got a lot of miles on my game. I’ve trained throughout the course of the offseason, but just my presence is going to be important as well.”
JJ Redick confirmed LeBron James’ status on Tuesday
The Lakers had their first day of training camp on Tuesday, and head coach JJ Redick confirmed that LeBron James was held out of the practice. According to him, there is a level of concern regarding James’ ramp-up heading into the team’s opening night on Oct. 21 against the Golden State Warriors.
“I think it’s probably a little bit longer of a ramp up leading into Opening Night for him,” Redick said.
JJ Redick says LeBron James is dealing with nerve irritation in his glute and was held out of practice Tuesday. Gabe Vincent, Marcus Smart and Adou Thiero were also out with injuries. pic.twitter.com/yNluN0ow3S
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) September 30, 2025
Redick said that it will be a slow process for James leading up to the first game of the regular season. The head coach also confirmed that LeBron James is dealing with nerve irritation.
For more sports 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 reignkarlmarcamurao@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.
