The Lakers will be without one of their top players when the 2025-26 season begins. LeBron James is currently dealing with sciatica pain in his right ankle. On Thursday, NBA insiders announced that James will miss three to four weeks in Los Angeles.
This means James will not be available for Game 1 on Tuesday, October 21st. LeBron James will miss the season opener for the first time in 23 professional seasons. James missed the team’s first two preseason games due to injury and has not yet fully practiced. When James enters the 2025-26 season with an injury, the Lakers will be cautious with him.
LeBron James will miss start of Lakers’ 2025-26 season
LeBron James will reportedly miss season opener for first time ever @hoophype
Crazy 🤯 pic.twitter.com/oH842g7xcg
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) October 9, 2025
This coming year, LeBron James will play a record-breaking 23rd professional season in the NBA. He broke a tie with Hall of Famer Vince Carter for the record of 22 seasons – another honor earned by LeBron in his historic career. On Thursday, October 10, NBA insiders announced that James is dealing with sciatica in his right ankle. Unfortunately, he will miss the Lakers for three to four weeks.
Unless James recovers quickly, the 40-year-old will miss the first game of the season. This will be the first time in his career that LeBron will miss the season opener. The NBA’s all-time scoring leader is scoring like no other. Is this the first time in LeBron’s career that we’re starting to see his performance decline?
Lakers star LeBron James will miss at least 3 to 4 weeks due to right sciatica pain. He will miss the start of the 2025-26 NBA season.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 9, 2025
In the 2024-25 season, James played 82 games and started 70 games for the Lakers. King James averaged 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 8.2 assists and 1.0 steals per game. Average playing time is 34.9 minutes per game. Lakers head coach JJ Redick spoke to reporters on Thursday. He told them LeBron was “on his own schedule.” While insiders report that James needs three to four weeks, he will need as much time as possible to be fully effective in Los Angeles.
This is not the news Lakers fans want to hear before the 2025-26 season. While James may miss the game, Los Angeles does have a superstar in Luka Doncic. The team has been resting their superstar point guard during the preseason. Doncic will have a chance to lead the Lakers at the beginning of the year. This will be his first full season in Los Angeles after being traded in 2024-25. How far can the duo of LeBron James and Luka Doncic lead the Lakers this season?
