The 2025-26 common season hasn’t even began but for the Los Angeles Lakers, however they have already got issues. This time involving star LeBron James. He has but to make his preseason debut, and we now know he will not.
In accordance with ESPN’s Shams Charania, LeBron will miss the subsequent three to 4 weeks with sciatica. That signifies that he may miss at the least the primary three weeks of the common season and 10 video games.
Lakers star LeBron James is sidelined for at the least 3 to 4 weeks attributable to sciatica on his proper facet. He’s out for the beginning of the 2025-26 NBA season.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 9, 2025
Whereas it might solely be 10 video games, sciatica is not one thing that essentially goes away shortly and will result in lingering points for LeBron and the Lakers. Anybody who has had again issues will inform you that they are often extraordinarily painful and uncomfortable.
Nonetheless, none of them had been LeBron, who has emerged as the best participant in NBA historical past due to his longevity and sturdiness.
Nonetheless, he’s getting into his twenty third season within the NBA and can flip 40 in December. Meaning that he’s nearer to the top of his profession than the start, and nagging accidents are to be anticipated.
The Lakers should turn out to be much less reliant on LeBron James
With Luka Doncic, they not should rely practically as a lot on LeBron, however they are going to nonetheless want him in the event that they wish to compete for a championship this season. That signifies that they are going to doubtless should rely extra on Doncic, Austin Reaves, and what they hope is an improved protection when LeBron sits or is not 100%.
It is fully attainable that LeBron may see a major drop in his general manufacturing with him having to cope with again accidents probably for a lot of the season. That might additionally negatively have an effect on the Lakers within the standings.
The West is already anticipated to be a massacre. Many anticipated the Lakers to be a top-4 workforce within the West like they had been final season. These probabilities take a giant hit if LeBron is out for the primary 10-plus video games of the season and the Lakers battle proper out of the gate.
They may, after all, make up for a sluggish begin later within the 12 months. However given how jam-packed the Western Convention standings are typically, the distinction between a couple of wins and losses could possibly be the third seed and a better path to the Western Convention Finals or the eighth seed and them battling to make it in through the play-in event.
General, LeBron being dominated out for the beginning of the season with sciatica may show to be a giant deal for the Lakers. They should hope they will climate an early storm and that LeBron can play at a excessive degree in what could possibly be his last season in Los Angeles.
