LeBron James will miss the start of the 2025–26 NBA season after being ruled out for up to four weeks with sciatica, the Los Angeles Lakers have confirmed.
The 40-year-old veteran signed a new contract with the Lakers in June and is set to become the first player in history to compete across 23 separate NBA seasons.
But this latest setback will delay that milestone, keeping him off the court through October and will have him sitting out his first opening night of his career.
He missed the team’s defeats against the Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns earlier this month due to what the team described as “glute nerve irritation.”
The four-time NBA champion is expected to be out for all five of the Lakers’ October games, including their season opener against Golden State, according to the Lakers’ medical staff.
“James has not taken part in preseason training and continues to receive treatment for the nerve issue,” the team said in a statement reported by BBC.
This marks unfamiliar territory for the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.
In his 22-year career, James has never previously missed the start of a regular season. His durability has long been a point of pride, and a key to his longevity.
James currently sits on 1,562 career regular-season appearances, just 50 shy of breaking former Boston Celtics legend Robert Parish’s all-time record.
Last season, James featured in 70 of the Lakers’ 82 games, averaging 24.4 points, 8.2 assists, and 7.8 rebounds per game, finishing sixth in the MVP voting. Despite his individual success, the Lakers exited the 2024–25 playoffs in the first round after a 4–1 series loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
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