LeBron James may return to the court soon.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported this on Wednesday that the Lakers star “taking 5-on-5 reps in practice” will be the “next step” towards his season debut.
James has yet to play in the 2025-26 NBA season as he struggles with sciatica in his lower back and right side.
He is expected to miss Los Angeles’ upcoming five-game road trip, which begins Saturday in Atlanta, but could appear in court on Nov. 18 when the Lakers host the Jazz, according to Charania.
“Obviously, this thing needs to continue to move forward with all of its return-to-play protocols,” Lakers head coach JJ Redick said. “So we don’t have a target date. It’s just somewhere in the general timeline. We’re hoping he’s checked all the boxes and will be back sometime in the second or third week of November.”
When the injury was first reported in October, James reportedly had a mid-November return in mind and planned to take a “patient approach” to his sciatica recovery.
James, who turns 41 at the end of December, is entering his 23rd season in the NBA, which will be a league record once he takes the floor this season.
Despite James’ absence, the Lakers are off to a red-hot start.
Heading into Wednesday night’s game against the Spurs and Victor Wembanyama, the Lakers finished a surprising 6-2 with The King on the bench.
Luka Doncic was ridiculous in the lineup, averaging 41.3 points with 11.5 rebounds and 8.3 assists in four games played Wednesday night.
His rising sidekick, Austin Reaves, is enjoying an early breakout, scoring 31.1 points per game with 9.3 assists in seven games.
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