The Los Angeles Lakers are not expected to offer a sneak preview of what this year's team will look like ahead of the regular season with LeBron James in the mix. It was already revealed that James was sidelined due to nerve irritation in the glute. That is where the superstar will stay until Oct. 21.
Shams Charania reported on NBA Today, "LeBron James has started to ramp up here. He's doing a little bit on the court. But I'm told the expectation is still he's likely gonna be out for the preseason [with] the goal being to be ready for opening night ... against the Golden State Warriors."
This might cause some unease for Lakers fans, having James heading into the new year with the 40-year-old already dinged up. However, there is no real cause for concern here.
The Lakers are taking the overly cautious approach with maintaining and protecting James. Given his aforementioned age, that is exactly what is needed at this stage of his career. Preseason is certainly not the point of the campaign that an aging superstar needs to be rushed back into the lineup.
Lakers know October doesn’t matter nearly as much as June for James
Everyone in the building for the Lakers is already envisioning 2025-26 as a season that should involve a championship push. That does not happen without the main running mate for Luka Doncic being as close to 100 percent as possible when the 2026 NBA Playoffs start.
The injury here comes off as quite minor, and certainly does not raise red flags. Even so, why force James to play through it just for the sake of some tune-up games?
It would have been nice to have LeBron out there to help figure out the chemistry, pecking order, coaching schemes, etc. with the new additions ahead of the regular season. However, if James is not fully healthy than the risks outweigh the rewards when it is only October.
James and the Lakers should have little trouble getting up to speed when it is necessary. Austin Reaves said as much earlier at training camp when speaking to Dave McMenamin.
Austin Reaves says LeBron James’ high basketball IQ will allow the Lakers to build conceptually during preseason even if James isn’t participating in live reps as much as he ramps up from a glute issue pic.twitter.com/XjDU6FQ6KM
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) September 30, 2025
Reaves said, "With him being one of the highest IQ guys to ever play the game,
it's not that hard to piece it in, even if he's not out there right now. He sees the game just as good as anybody that's ever played the game."
The Lakers will have plenty of time to figure out how to make the championship formula work, especially with an easy schedule to start the year. Patience will be paramount here.