All eyes will be on the Los Angeles Lakers once again this Tuesday evening, as they return to action to face the Utah Jazz at Crypto.com Arena in L.A. days after taking down the Milwaukee Bucks on the road to the tune of a 119-95 score. But what makes the meeting with Utah even more intriguing is the possibility of superstar forward and ageless wonder LeBron James making his much-awaited 2025-26 NBA season debut in that contest.
Here's everything we know about LeBron James' injury and his playing status vs. the Jazz.
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LeBron James injury status vs. Jazz
James has missed the Lakers' first 14 games this season with sciatica. But after a stint with Los Angeles' G League affiliate South Bay Lakers, he is back. ESPN's Shams Charania and Dave McMenamin reported that James would play at home against the Jazz on Tuesday night. Earlier in the day, Charania said that this was James' goal, but he needed to “check a few boxes” in warmups.
James, who will turn 41 years old in December, will be the first player in the history of the NBA to see action in 23 seasons.
During the 2024-25 NBA season, the 21-time NBA All-Star averaged 24.4 points, 8.2 assists, and 7.8 rebounds while posting a 57.1 effective field goal percentage over the course of 70 games.
Lakers injury report
Apart from LeBron James, the only other player on the Lakers' injury report heading into the Jazz game is Gabe Vincent, who is questionable with an ankle issue. Vincent has missed the last 11 Lakers games with a sprain in his left ankle.
Jazz injury report
The Jazz, on the other hand, have a longer list of names on the injury report. Kyle Filipowski, Lyle Anderson and Taylor Hendricks are all questionable due to various injuries for the meeting with Los Angeles. Meanwhile, Walker Kessler, Georges Niang, John Tonje and Oscar Tshiebwe are all out for different reasons.
