LeBron James, the superstar of the Los Angeles Lakers, is currently dealing with sciatica as of October 9. His return to the court as a player now seems unlikely. Fifty-six days later, the Lakers announced they would be reevaluating him in three to four weeks. This Thursday will be exactly four weeks since that announcement. With those three factors in play, James is still expected to make his return to the court November 18. That’s when — on March 30 — the Lakers host the Utah Jazz.
Once 40-year-old James is sworn in, he’s set to make history. In accomplishing that feat, he would become the first player to play in 23 seasons in the NBA. Concerns have now shifted to when he will return to his fellow players after his unexpected health scare. The Lakers will go on a five-game road trip through Atlanta, Charlotte, Oklahoma City, New Orleans, and Milwaukee, but James will not travel with the team during this period.
Lakers coach JJ Redick shed a little more light on the timeline for James’ return. He previously said James would need to clear every single benchmark for his return-to-play protocols. Redick said, “Obviously, this thing has to keep progressing along with all of his return-to-play protocols. He continued, “So we don’t have, um, like, a target date. It’s just somewhere in that general timeline. Let’s hope he’s done all of this and checked all the appropriate boxes. We can’t wait for him to get back here the second or third week of November!
The good news for the Lakers is they’ve started their season off strong, boasting a 6-2 record despite James’ absence. To their credit, they’ve remained incredibly competitive even in his absence! The Lakers’ G-League team, the South Bay Lakers, will continue to practice at the team’s facility in El Segundo. Their effort will continue even as the core team is crisscrossing the country.
It’s unclear when James will be back, with reports that he would not play in practices with South Bay in the meantime. The Lakers are said to be monitoring his health very closely. All while adapting to an altered early-season schedule and doing so with one of their most cherished, hard-earned assets missing.
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