EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — 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.
James began camp for his unprecedented 23rd NBA season last week with the lower-body nerve injury keeping him off the court. The Lakers held their sixth full practice of camp Thursday without the top scorer in NBA history, who also missed both of their first two preseason games while he worked to get back into competitive condition.
“You’ve got to play the cards you’re dealt,” Redick said. “That’s a shame, but that’s just the reality. ... No one has got any time with LeBron. That’s not just (new center Deandre Ayton), but everybody. (James) hasn’t been on the court with the team, but that’s just the reality.”
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.
Instead, the Lakers are installing their offense and building court chemistry during this camp largely without James on the court. They're also getting limited time so far with Doncic, who is making a deliberate return to full speed after his participation in EuroBasket during a busy summer.
The Lakers return to the court Sunday at home against Golden State.
Doncic participated in some full practices last week, including scrimmages, but Ayton said Wednesday that he would love to get more practice time with the Lakers' two biggest stars.
“It’s something I’ve just been waiting on,” Ayton said. “Just got to prepare. JJ and the coaching staff probably have something where they can put stuff together for all of us to really grow chemistry.”
James traveled with the Lakers on their preseason trips to Palm Desert, California, and San Francisco, but he has been performing individual drills and doing his own workouts.
James made news and scared his fans earlier this week when he teased “The Second Decision” on social media — for what turned out to be an advertisement for a cognac brand.
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.”
Redick had said he was hopeful that James and Doncic would participate in at least one preseason game that could be used as a “dress rehearsal” for the regular season, but that won't happen.
Redick still expects Doncic to play in the preseason at least once. The Lakers have four preseason games remaining, including two in Los Angeles.
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