During this week, LA Lakers announced that LeBron James will not attend the beginning of the NBA season in 2025-26 because of sciatica. Jeff Mueller, PT, DPT, a popular sports injury analyst, took notice of the news and reposted an August post in which he critiqued the form of James in deadlift.
At that time, Mueller posted a video of a clip in the Instagram story of LeBron James and stated that he was on the wrong side of whatever James was doing.
It is the first occasion when LeBron James will not attend an opening night. As Shams Charania, who is a guest on NBA Today Tuesday, claims, the four-time NBA champion has started intensifying his training. Despite 23 seasons of playing experience, it has been two consecutive years when James played 70 or more games. He is now concerned with health and long life span than rushing back to the court. Lakers start their season on the 21st of October with Golden State Warriors.
Coach JJ Redick as to why LeBron James has been away
Following practice on Thursday, Lakers coach JJ Redick addressed the issue of sciatica in James and stated that he is yet to be on the court with the teammates. This can be confirmed by the reports of Deandre Ayton who recently stated that he had not trained with LeBron.
Redick told the press:
You must make the best out of the cards you are given. It’s a pity but that is the truth. Nobody has even had any time with LeBron- not Deandre, but everybody.
Redick will have to depend on Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves to lead the offense without James, as James will be expected to be out 3-4 weeks and probably take 1-2 weeks to get 100 percent strength back.
Fantasy Outlook of LeBron: Uncertain but still a Top Pick
LeBron James was a difficult player to project in fantasy basketball even before this injury. He has contradicted the age and experience in the same manner Tom Brady of the NFL has. He was 40 last season, and the second consecutive year has finished in the top 10 in both fantasy points per game (7th) and points (9th), playing 70 games.
Fantasy owners are now left in doubt now that sciatica has sidelined him during preseason and the opening games. James too is adapting to the possible position change in playing with the new teammate, Luka Doncic.
Another strong fantasy choice is James even with the questions. Conservative drafters could wait until the late second or third round, and risk-takers could take him early so that they can capitalize on the upside. James was selected at No. 16 in the middle of a recent industry draft, which indicates his big ceiling even in an abbreviated season.
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