LeBroni James returned to full 5-on-5 practice with the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday, participating in his first lesson of the season as he approached the court.
James was scheduled to play and missed training camp, the entire NBA Pre-Season and 14 games due to sciatica.
After completing Monday’s workout, he revealed that his return status will depend on how his body responds in the coming days.
“Then we literally take it one minute, one hour, one step at a time throughout the process,” James said after practice.
“So, see how I feel this afternoon, see how I feel tonight. When I wake up in the morning, maybe, we have to see how the body responds in the next 24 hours – and,
Lakers head coach JJ Redick described James’ availability of Tuesday’s necklace against Utah as uncertain, saying it’s “TBD.” The group is officially listed this VelAn forward as it can be caught.
James also admitted that losing the start of the season for the first time in his career was mentally challenging.
“It’s annoying,” she said. “I’ve never in my life since I started playing basketball I’ve never started a season. So it’s a mental test, but I’m built on it, but I’ve built it to be ready to be ready for the team.”
He also confirmed that he is dealing with sciatica for the second time, previously experienced in the summer of 2023, and described the situation as difficult to manage.
“If you’ve never had it, and people make jokes about it, I’ll never get it,” James said. “It’s not fun.
“You wake up one day and you hope that when you get out of bed you are not happy. You go to bed at night, and you hope that when you are in bed that you don’t feel good.
“There’s a lot of exercise and a lot of movement and a lot of things that you can do to help. So, I just keep a good mindset.
“My lungs feel like a newborn baby. That’s the most important thing. I got my lungs back to a grown man.
“My voice is already gone. One day back, barking calls and assignments and stuff, getting my voice working again. [There will] Have lots of tea and rest tonight. “
The Lakers are 10-4 to start the season and are preparing to reintegrate the 21-time star into the rotation. Redick said the team treated Monday as a fresh start with their returning leader.
“We talked about it on film: ‘We got a new player today,'” Redick said. “Everyone was happy. They introduced themselves.”
