According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, LeBron James has been diagnosed with sciatica on his right side and will miss at least three to four weeks, sidelining him for the entire preseason and the first few games of the regular season.
At 40 years old, LeBron’s body is beginning to show signs of wear after more than 66,000 combined minutes played across the regular season and playoffs. The four-time MVP was already recovering from a left knee MCL sprain suffered last postseason and had been limited in training camp due to nerve irritation in his glute.
Now, the sciatica flare-up has forced the Lakers to be cautious. He’s expected to miss the highly anticipated October 21 opener against the Golden State Warriors, delaying another LeBron vs. Steph Curry showdown that fans had circled on the calendar.
“It’s tough,” one fan wrote on X after the news broke. “That’s how you know you’re getting old — the sciatic nerve starts barking.”
Lakers Searching for Answers
The timing couldn’t be worse. As Athlon Sports noted, the Lakers had entered camp with major optimism for the second year of the LeBron James–Luka Dončić partnership, bolstered by veterans Marcus Smart and Deandre Ayton.
Without their leader, head coach JJ Redick will lean on Luka Dončić’s playmaking and the depth provided by new additions to carry the load early on.
According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, the Lakers had already planned to manage LeBron’s minutes to keep him fresh for the postseason, but now, that load management starts even before tip-off.
Off-Court Noise Adds to the Week
Adding to the drama, LeBron found himself in the headlines for non-basketball reasons.
After teasing a mysterious “major announcement” on social media, he revealed it was a new Hennessy campaign, not a retirement or trade revelation as many had assumed.
TMZ also reported that a Lakers fan filed a lawsuit against James, claiming he was “misled” into purchasing tickets for what he thought would be the star’s final NBA game.
What’s Next for LeBron and the Lakers?
LeBron will be re-evaluated in three to four weeks, but given his age and injury history, the team is expected to proceed cautiously.
For now, Los Angeles will try to stay competitive without him, but questions are growing louder about how much longer the “King” can continue to rule.
The 2025–26 NBA season tips off in less than two weeks, and one of the game’s greatest will be watching from the sidelines.