While the Lakers just announced this week that LeBron James is suffering from sciatica and will be out for the first couple of weeks of the season — at least — it turns out he has been dealing with this for months.
LeBron first started experiencing sciatica nerve pain in late July or early August during on-court workouts, reports Shams Charania of ESPN on NBA Today. Here is what he said:
“My understanding is this injury for LeBron, this nerve issue, first developed, first occurred, in late July, early August, during an on-court workout. So it’s now two-and-a-half months and counting that he’s had to deal with it and manage it. So even before the Lakers’ Media Day on Sept. 29 and the start of training camp, I’m told LeBron James had not done much basketball for well over a month prior to that. So it had been a normal routine summer for him. He’s a creature of habit, we know that by the way he maintains his body. So for him to be out to start the season and miss his first-ever Opening Night, it shows an admission by him and the Lakers that he needs more time to ramp up, getting into basketball shape, getting into the right basketball conditioning that he’s accustomed to. He’s not there yet.”
Because of the pain on his right side — the sciatic nerve runs from the tailbone down the leg to the feet — LeBron has been limited in his workouts, both physically and on the court. Once he’s pain free, it’s going to take time for him to get his conditioning up to speed and shake some of the rust off his game. All that can take longer at age 40. LeBron will be re-evaluated in 3-4 weeks, but could well be out longer.
For the Lakers, that puts more on Luka Doncic’s plate to start the season. It will also start to give GM Rob Pelinka and the Lakers front office a view of what Austin Reaves looks like as the No. 2 option next to Doncic. Reaves can be (and is expected to be) a free agent next summer, and the Lakers have to decide if he’s worth it to them to pay him $25-30 million a season and keep him around, or if they should look elsewhere.
How this injury heals — and what’s causing the compression of the sciatic nerve, whether it’s muscular, a herniated disc, or something else — could also impact LeBron’s decision about how much longer he wants to play. LeBron is entering a record 23rd NBA season and will be a free agent next summer, giving him a lot of options for what the final year or years of his playing career could look like.
