The Los Angeles Lakers will be without LeBron James when they kick off the 2025-26 NBA season against Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors on Oct. 21, ESPN reports. James is reportedly sidelined for three to four weeks due to sciatica on his right side. This will mark the first time James missed a season opener in his 23-year career.
Reports surfaced this week that James was dealing with nerve irritation in his glute, and would “likely” miss the entire NBA preseason. The hope was that the 40-year-old superstar would be ready to suit up for the season opener later this month, and it was reported that he was ramping up his workload.
James enters his NBA-record 23rd season. He averaged 24.4 points, 78 rebounds and 8.2 assists per game last year. The NBA’s all-time scoring leader opted into his $52.6 million player option to remain with the Lakers this offseason.
Lakers coach JJ Redick said this offseason that the Lakers would be cautious with James’ health, as he dealt with foot and ankle injuries that sidelined him in recent years. Still, the four-time NBA MVP and 21-time All-Star is incredibly important when it comes to this team’s identity.
The Lakers registered their first 50-win campaign since 2019-20 this past season, but lost in five games to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs. Last season was, of course, when the Lakers acquired Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks, who averaged 28.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.5 assists in his 28 games played for the Lakers. Without a doubt, he will be the centerpiece on offense to begin the season for Los Angeles, but more will also be asked of Austin Reaves.
The Lakers’ sharpshooter was L.A.’s third-leading scorer behind Doncic and James with a career-high 20.2 points per game. Reaves’ points per game and assists per game numbers have increased in all four of his NBA seasons, and he just became one of 10 players in Lakers history to average 20 points and five assists per game in a single season.
As for who replaces James in the lineup to begin the year, that’s where things get interesting. Redick could opt for new guard Marcus Smart, or keep things big and replace James with forward Jarred Vanderbilt instead.
