LeBron James hasn’t played a single game this season due to a sciatica injury, missing the Los Angeles Lakers‘ first 14 games. This is the first time the Lakers star has missed the season-opener throughout his 22-year career in the NBA. On Sunday, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin and Shams Charania gave a positive update concerning James’ road to recovery.
Last week, James started to ramp up his comeback process. He was cleared to play 5-on-5 and participated in a few workout sessions with the team’s G-League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers. The NBA team was on a five-game road trip during that stretch, which is why he wasn’t with Luka Doncic and the others.
On Saturday, the Lakers concluded their recent road stretch with a 119-95 win against the Milwaukee Bucks. The squad will practice on Monday in preparation for its Tuesday game at Crypto.com Arena against the Utah Jazz.
McMenamin and Charania confirmed that James will be with the team on Monday, after his practice runs with South Bay.
“LeBron James has been reassigned back to the Los Angeles Lakers from their G League affiliate and will be a full participant at practice Monday as his season debut nears, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania on Sunday,” McMenamin wrote.
New story with @ShamsCharania: LeBron James will practice with the Lakers on Monday, sources told ESPN, setting the stage for his season debut https://t.co/DX1xnYhC8w
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) November 16, 2025
“Sources with knowledge of his rehabilitation stint told ESPN he ‘looked great’ and ‘moved well’ and has shown a motivation and eagerness to return to the floor for the Lakers, who are 10-4 to start the season, occupying the No. 4 spot in the Western Conference.”
James is set to make history in the NBA once he makes his season debut. The four-time champion will be the only player to play 23 seasons.
Austin Reaves had jokes about LeBron James during his G-League stint
The Lakers’ matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday was special for Bronny James. He was named a starter, which is the first time for the second-year guard. Unfortunately for the former USC guard, he finished the game with one rebound, one assist and one steal. James shot 0-for-2 from the field.
Following the game, Austin Reaves had jokes about the younger James starting the game. He also mentioned LeBron James being in the G-League.
“How about Bronny James starting in the NBA and LeBron’s assigned to the G League?” Reaves said. “That’s fun. That’s awesome.”
Although the older James was with the G-League team, he didn’t play a game for them. He was only assigned to get himself ready for his potential season debut.
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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.
