The Los Angeles Lakers confirmed Thursday that forward LeBron James will not play in the season opener against the Golden State Warriors on Oct. 21 because of right-side sciatica. Team doctors plan to re-evaluate the 20-time All-Star in approximately three to four weeks, placing his earliest checkup around the ninth or 10th game of the regular season.
James, who turns 41 later this year and is entering his 23rd NBA campaign, has never missed Opening Night in his career until now. The Lakers stated they will take a cautious approach to prevent the injury from lingering.
With the four-time MVP unavailable, head coach Darvin Ham is expected to lean on Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves to initiate the offense. The club limited Doncic’s workload during training camp and preseason after his summer run at EuroBasket.
Additional minutes could also fall to Rui Hachimura, Jake LaRavia, Marcus Smart, Jarred Vanderbilt, Gabe Vincent and rookie Dalton Knecht as Los Angeles navigates a tightly contested Western Conference.
Speaking earlier in the week, James said the roster’s depth should allow him to build up gradually as the season progresses. “When you have a dynamic, transcendent player like Luka, and an unbelievable complementary player in AR [Austin Reaves]… I don’t have to rush myself to get to 100 percent in October and November,” he noted.
The Lakers have not set a definitive return date; the organization emphasized it will provide the future Hall of Famer with as much time as necessary for a full recovery.
Source: LakersNation.com
