On the first night of a back-to-back series, the Los Angeles Lakers will take on the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday night. However, the team won’t have LeBron James, as he’s listed as out due to a foot injury. It’s up to Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves to lead the Lakers to win against the Pelicans. According to reports, James’ injury doesn’t look serious.
Before this setback, James missed the team’s first 14 games due to sciatica. It’s the longest absence he’s had to start a new season. For the first time in his 23-year career, the four-time champion missed the season opener. Fortunately for the Lakers, the star forward made his season debut on Nov. 18 and has played four games since then.
After ESPN’s Dave McMenamin confirmed that James will sit out the game against New Orleans, fans went into splits on X (formerly Twitter).
Here are what fans said about LeBron James missing a game.
“lebron out for foot vibes vs NOP?? 😭 bronny bout to drop 50 or we riot fr, lakers depth chart in shambles no cap 💀” a fan said.
“LeLoadManager at it again,” another fan commented.
“Lakers fans finding out right as they clock in for their night shift 😭💔” one fan said.
“I mean they dont need him its year 23 rest him against teams that are really bad, keep him fresh for playoffs” a fan commented.
I mean they dont need him its year 23 rest him against teams that are really bad, keep him fresh for playoffs
— Shake Milton Fan (@ShakeMiltonStan) November 30, 2025
“rest my king,” someone commented.
“The load management season. Going to keep LeBron fresh for playoffs,” a comment read.
“Damn he’s gonna lose that all nba streak 💔” a fan was concerned.
“Load management after just 4 games?” one fan pointed out.
The Lakers will face the Phoenix Suns on Monday to end their back-to-back action.
LeBron James had high praise for Deandre Ayton
The Lakers are coming off a 129-119 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Friday. LeBron James didn’t have an explosive scoring night, adding 13 points, five rebounds and seven assists. It was Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves who took charge with 35 and 38 points, respectively.
Following the contest, James spoke highly of their starting center, Deandre Ayton. The Bahamian big man had 17 points, eight rebounds and two blocks. The four-time MVP commended Ayton for his willingness to do everything the team asks of him.
“Everything that we ask him to do, he does it,” James said. “Then it’s our responsibility to give him the ball when he is open. It’s our responsibility to attract the eyes off of him, for him to get good looks. He’s making them all count. It was a big force for us. He sets pretty much 80 percent of our pick-and-roll.”
With James sidelined against the Pelicans, the Lakers could look to DA to step up on both ends.
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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.
