Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James will begin his 23rd NBA season under a careful workload plan, with the team opting for an “overly cautious” approach during training camp. ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reported Tuesday that James is expected to be limited in practices and preseason action as the Lakers focus on preserving his health for a long postseason run.

McMenamin shared on NBA Today that James acknowledged he is not yet where he wants to be physically but emphasized there is time to build up before the regular season.

“LeBron told me he’s not where he wants to be at this stage of the preseason,” McMenamin said. “Now he said, of course he has time to get there, but really this is something that the Lakers are monitoring and LeBron’s monitoring. And we discussed his ramp up plan yesterday at media day.”

James, who turned 40 last December, addressed his health and workload during media day when asked about preparing for an 82-game schedule and the playoffs.

“For sure, that’s always a challenge, you know – how can I get my body closer to 100%? Obviously, coming off the MCL sprain of last year, obviously, the foot has kinda given me problems from time to time throughout the course of the last few seasons so that’s always a challenge in seeing how I can get my body to as close as to 100% where I can go out and perform at a high-level,” James said. “So, a lot of miles on my game… I’ve trained throughout the course of the offseason, but just my presence is going to be important as well. Making sure that even if I’m not on the floor that I’m always in tune with what we’re doing so I know what’s going on at all times. So, just looking forward to that.”

Lakers head coach JJ Redick addressed James’ status after he was held out of Tuesday’s practice, saying the team is pacing him differently this preseason compared to last year.

“I think it’s probably a little bit longer of a ramp up leading into opening night for him,” Redick said. “Just obviously, in year 23 uncharted territory here. So, I felt and talking with performance to talk with Mike and LeBron like he probably did too much last year in camp — which was great for me as a first-year head coach to get buy-in from him. But it’ll be a slower process with him leading into the first game, you know, he’s obviously got 22 years so far of wear and tear on the body. He’s dealing with a little bit of nerve irritation in the glutes, we’re just playing the long game with LeBron.”

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Lakers limit LeBron James with focus on long-term health entering opener vs. Warriors

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McMenamin added that James’ participation in training camp and the preseason schedule will be limited.

“LeBron told me that it remains to be seen how much he’ll participate in training camp and in the preseason. And I’m told that the plan going into the Lakers’ first practice today is that LeBron will be a limited participant on the court. Maybe, only being involved in some light shooting, but certainly be here and be present,” McMenamin said.

The Lakers will play six preseason games, though James is unlikely to feature heavily. Last year, he appeared in three preseason contests, which McMenamin suggested may have contributed to early fatigue.

“I was told, maybe he overdid it last year leading into the beginning of the season when he wore out come December,” McMenamin reported. “So I’m told that LeBron’s camp has spoken to the Lakers and said, ‘let’s be overly cautious with LeBron because we want to be looking at the long view here, if this team is going to be contending for a championship, we need LeBron in his best shape from April through June.’”

James and Luka Doncic will share the floor for their first full season together, a pairing that has fueled championship expectations in Los Angeles. The Lakers are scheduled to open the 2025-26 regular season on Oct. 21 against the Golden State Warriors.