Los Angeles Lakers fans all want to know when LeBron James will make his season debut. After dealing with a sciatica problem throughout the preseason, James was shut down at the start of the 2025-26 season, and has missed each of the Lakers' first nine games.
The good news for Los Angeles is that despite Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves missing games due to injury, the Lakers are 7-2 and find themselves right behind the Oklahoma City Thunder at the top of the Western Conference standings.
However, the bad news is that LeBron remains out with his sciatica injury, and his latest injury update signals more missed games on the horizon.
James, who has been targeting a mid-November return to the court, has officially been cleared for contact basketball activities and will be re-evaluated in one to two weeks, the team announced on Thursday morning. While the team begins a five-game road trip on Saturday, James will remain in Los Angeles and begin 5-on-5 action, which could include scrimmaging with the South Bay Lakers G League organization.
What this absence during the Lakers' upcoming five-game road trip means is that the earliest James could return is Nov. 18 at home against the Utah Jazz, which is the team's 15th game of the season.
Why is this significant? Well, LeBron has already missed nine games this season, and missing the entire five-game road trip puts him at 14 missed games this season.
In order to qualify for end-of-season awards and accolades, a player must play in at least 65 games during the regular season, while also meeting certain criteria pertaining to minutes in said games. If he were to return on Nov. 18 against the Jazz, LeBron would only be allowed to miss three more games during the entire 2025-26 season to remain eligible for All-NBA honors.
Since his second year in the league, the 2004-05 season, James has been named to one of the three All-NBA teams. His streak of 21 straight years being named an All-NBA performer on the court is in serious jeopardy, and it doesn't appear as if the Lakers star will be able to continue his streak this year.
Overall, this is one of the most unbreakable records in NBA history. Only 12 players in the history of the league have ever played 20 or more years in the NBA, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the next closest to LeBron with 15 All-NBA selections in his illustrious Hall-of-Fame career.
The next closest active players to LeBron when it comes to All-NBA selections are Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and Chris Paul — all of whom have 11 All-NBA selections.
Should this streak come to an end for James, which seems highly likely at this time, it will be yet another reminder that the end is near for the league's all-time leading scorer. LeBron will be turning 41 years old in December, and at this stage of his career, all he cares about is competing for his fifth championship.
With the Lakers sitting near the top of the NBA standings, he will have a good shot to achieve his last goal during the 2025-26 season upon returning from injury.
