LeBron James ready for contact basketball activity as he works toward season debut for Lakers
LeBron James is ready for contact basketball activity, and he will be re-evaluated by the Los Angeles Lakers’ team physician in one to two weeks as he prepares to begin his unprecedented 23rd NBA season
LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James is ready for contact basketball activity, and he will be re-evaluated by the Los Angeles Lakers' team physician in one to two weeks as he prepares to begin his unprecedented 23rd NBA season.
James has yet to play this season or practice with the Lakers after being shut down early in training camp due to sciatica, a lower-body nerve problem. The next step in his recovery is five-on-five basketball work in practice, but it's unclear when that could begin because the Lakers are headed out on a five-game road trip beginning Saturday in Atlanta, and James isn't expected to travel with the team.
The 40-year-old James has been working out individually in recent weeks. The Lakers announced James' progression to contact basketball on Thursday, exactly four weeks after the team initially said the top scorer in NBA history would be re-evaluated in three to four weeks.
“We don’t have a target date,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said last week of James' progress. "It’s just somewhere in that general timeline. We hope that he’s kind of checked all the boxes and is going to be back sometime in that second or third week in November.”
If James wants on-court work while the Lakers are on the road, he could conceivably join the Lakers' G League affiliate at the team's training complex in El Segundo. The Lakers' next home game is Nov. 18.
Recommended for you
The Lakers have played remarkably well in James' absence, stoking fans' excitement about being a possible contender six seasons after James and Anthony Davis won the franchise's 17th championship in the Florida bubble.
Luka Doncic scored 35 points while the Lakers held off San Antonio 118-116 on Wednesday night for their fifth consecutive win, including three in four nights.
Los Angeles is 7-2 even with James sidelined all season and with Doncic and Austin Reaves missing significant time because of injuries and rest.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO
personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who
make comments. Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. Don't threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Anyone violating these rules will be issued a
warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be
revoked.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.