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LeBron James injury update: When will Lakers star return?

LeBron James injury update: When will Lakers star return?

NBA DraftKings Network

Published:

By: Stan Son

Last Thursday, the Lakers announced that James would be sidelined for three to four weeks due to sciatica on his right side. James has been dealing with the issue since July and did not participate in training camp or preseason games.

On Wednesday, ESPN’s Shams Charania provided a little more clarity as he reported that the Lakers will take a “patient approach” and James could return sometime in November.

The earliest the Lakers will re-evaluate James is October 30th, so the November timeline would include ramping up and getting back into basketball shape. That also means that there’s the possibility that the season debut for James could be after November if he’s not fully cleared at the end of the month.

This is a dicey situation because, as sciatica usually goes away over time, there have been instances of it lasting for months. At a soon-to-be age of 41, James cannot defy Father Time forever.

Stan Son
Stan joined DraftKings in December of 2020. It was a glorious time, except for that whole COVID thing, when we got Madden streams and boisterous bat flips from the KBO. I was brought on board to bring some West Coast flavor. I especially love hoops, and most of my content is in that arena. When I walk along the beach, strumming my guitar, the beat that I hear is not one of crashing waves. No, it is the beat of the ball bouncing off the hardwood with highs provided by the squeaks of the sneakers. Ball is life.
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