The Los Angeles Lakers continue to navigate the early stage of the season without LeBron James.
It’s not just him missing, though. Wednesday’s matchup with the Minnesota Timberwolves will be missing pretty much everyone except Austin Reaves.
Anthony Edwards is out for Minnesota.
And for L.A., the likes of Luka Doncic and Marcus Smart are out, too.
The King always looms large when he’s on the sideline. It’s certainly not what the NBA wants for a nationally televised game on ESPN.
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Why isn’t LeBron James playing tonight?
LeBron James remains out with an injury he sustained that popped up early in the preseason.
This will be five games in and all five missed by James
James is dealing with sciatica on the right side of his body, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Sciatica causes pain and weakness in the lower back and leg. It’s not something James has been documented as having dealt with before.
When James was diagnosed with the sciatica, he was expected to be out for three to four weeks. The Lakers would hope to have him back in early November.
ESPN’s Dave McMenamin provided an update on NBA Today on Monday.
“I’m told that we’re still in the range of about three more weeks before he would be targeting a return sometime in mid-November,” McMenamin said on the ESPN show. “I have been told by multiple sources over the last several days that his rehab and all of the process to get back to that return date is moving in the right direction, so there is good vibes around it.”
It’s not yet clear how long James might need to get up to a full workload when he returns, either. At this point, it’s still pretty touch and go with the King.
