For the first time this season, LeBron James practiced in full with the Los Angeles Lakers, and for the first time this season, he was upgraded to questionable on the injury report.
And for the first time, James also didn’t report any setbacks from the sciatica nerve issue he has been dealing with on his right side that forced him to miss training camp and the first 14 games of the Lakers’ season.
“As expected,” James told reporters Monday, Nov. 17 after the practice session. “My lungs felt like a newborn baby. I gotta get my lungs back to a grown man and my voice is already gone. One day back and barking out calls and assignments and stuff – getting my voice working again. It will be a lot of tea and rest tonight. It feels good, feels good to be out here with the guys.”
James’ full participation in Monday’s practice points toward a return to the court soon, possibly as early as Los Angeles’ next game, Tuesday, Nov. 18, against the Utah Jazz.
Lakers coach JJ Redick said James was still “TBD” for that game, which will take place at the Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles, but the questionable designation is indication that his season debut could be iminent.
If James is unable to play then, the Lakers will then have an extended, five-day break, with their following game coming Sunday, Nov. 23 on the road, also against the Jazz. The final determination on his availability, seemingly, will come down to his response to Monday’s practice.
“We’ve been taking literally one minute, one hour, one step at a time throughout this whole process,” James said. “We’ll see how I feel this afternoon, we’ll see how I feel tonight, when I wake up in the morning – we’ll probably have shootaround, so we’ve just got to see how the body responds over the next 24 hours-plus.”
Though this was the first Lakers practice with James, he did spend most of last week in the Los Angeles area training with the South Bay Lakers, the franchise’s G League affiliate. The Lakers had been on a five-game road trip that concluded Saturday, Nov. 15 in Milwaukee.
James called it “a blessing” that the South Bay Lakers were able to accommodate him in their practices, allowing him to run through full five-on-five action.
James described the monotony of his rehab, as he’s looking to set a new NBA record, becoming the first player in league history to play 23 seasons, breaking the tie he currently holds with Hall of Fame guard Vince Carter.
This season marked the first time in James’ career that he failed to play in a season opener for any reason at all.
“It sucked,” James said. “It definitely sucked. Never in my life since I’ve been playing the game of basketball have I ever not started a season. It has been a mind test, but I’m built for it. Putting in the work, both mentally and physically, and just trying to get myself ready to rejoin the team.”
The Lakers had done fairly well without James, going 10-4 and currently sitting in third place in the Western Conference. Luka Dončić has carried Los Angeles and leads the NBA in scoring with 34.4 points per game, but players like Austin Reaves and Deandre Ayton have also stepped up.
Whenever James does make his return, the Lakers may need to adjust slightly to incorporate him into their offense. Still, he has been one of the premier play makers of his generation, and is a player who excels in creating opportunities for others.
The biggest hurdle may be that James does best with the ball in his hands – whether in transition or driving and kicking out to teammates – and Dončić is also a ball-dominant player.
“For me, it’s just about finding ways where I can fit in organically,” James said. “Right off the top, I know ways I can help this team right away when I am put back in the lineup.
“I’m a ball player. Best thing about me and the way I built my game my whole life, I’ve never had a position. (Heat coach Erik Spoelstra) used to say: ‘positionless basketball, be positionless.’ There’s not one team, one club in the world where I can’t fit in and play. I can do everything on the floor.”
James also revealed that this is not the first time he has dealt with a sciatica issue and added that he’s not fully pain free despite his participation in practice, but that he’s undertaking exercises to manage the issue.
“I had it two years ago,” he said. “If you’ve had it, then you know what the hell it’s about. If you ain’t ever had it and people making jokes about it, I pray you never get it. It is not fun.”
By time of publication, the Lakers had not submitted an injury report for Tuesday’s game against the Jazz, though they are required to do so by Monday evening.