It won’t be an ideal start to LeBron James’ record 23rd NBA season after the 40-year-old superstar will miss opening night due to sciatica, according to multiple reports.
Per the reports, James will be re-evaluated in three to four weeks.
ESPN’s Shams Charania was first to report the news.
CNN has reached out to the Lakers for comment.
The NBA’s all-time leading scorer has not been a full participant in Lakers practice since the opening of training camp earlier this month and has also missed the team’s first two preseason games due to what head coach JJ Redick said is a nerve irritation in his glute.
On Thursday, Redick said that James is “on his own timeline” ahead of the Lakers’ opening game of the regular season on October 21 against Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors at the Crypto.com Arena.
Sciatica is pain that originates in the spine and radiates down the back of the leg.
James, who has been the subject of retirement rumors for much of the last year, is entering a record-setting 23rd season in the league.
Last season, James averaged 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 8.2 assists in 70 games.
The four-time NBA champion was non-committal about his future following the Lakers’ first-round loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA playoffs earlier this year.
“I don’t know. I don’t have the answer to that,” James told reporters. “Something I’ll sit down with my family, my wife and my support group and kind of just talk through it and see what happens and just have a conversation with myself on how long I want to continue to play. I don’t know the answer to that right now, to be honest, so we’ll see.”
In June, James reportedly picked up his $52.6 million option to return for an eighth season with the Lakers.
James is a 21-time All-Star and four-time league MVP and has scored a record 42,184 regular-season points, and 50,473 in the regular season and playoffs combined.
James entered the NBA as an 18-year-old after being selected No. 1 in the 2003 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. He turns 41 in December.
