LOS ANGELES—With opening night for the Los Angeles Lakers just a week from Tuesday, Lakers Nation was dealt a terrible blow. LeBron James will miss opening night of his record 23rd NBA season due to sciatica that will be re-evaluated in three to four weeks, the Los Angeles Lakers announced Thursday.
The 40-year-old superstar will be sidelined at least until the end of October with sciatica — pain in the nerves running from the buttocks and down the back of the legs on his right side.
James has yet to participate in a full practice since the Lakers opened training camp last week, and coach JJ Redick said James was “on his own timeline” Thursday after practice. An hour later, the Lakers announced an injury timeline that means James is likely to miss at least their first five or six games, and possibly several more.
The Lakers open the regular season at home Oct. 21 against Golden State. They have eight games in a 13-day span beginning Oct. 24.
Redick and the rest of the Lakers expressed excitement last week about the chance to have their first full training camp together with James and Luka Doncic, who scarcely ever got to practice with his new team after joining Los Angeles in the middle of last season.
James has repeatedly said he doesn’t know whether he will retire after this season, only saying that the end to the longest career in NBA history will be “sooner than later.”
Luka Doncic will definitely have to carry the Lake Show for the time being.
