LeBron James to miss Lakers' opening night against Warriors with injury

The Los Angeles Lakers will begin their regular season against Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors without superstar forward LeBron James. ESPN's Dave McMenamin revealed that he will be sitting out for three to four weeks with a sciatica injury in his right side.

According to HoopsHype, James will miss the first opening night of his career, snapping a 22-year streak.

James picked up his player option that was linked to the two-year, 101.35 million deal he signed with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2024. He's now in line to be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2025-26 season.

What will the Lakers' lineup look like without LeBron James?

Senior NBA insider Shams Charania reported that LeBron James "is out for the start of the 2025-26 NBA season." This could hint at the Lakers' superstar possibly missing games beyond opening night.

Lakers star LeBron James is sidelined for at least 3 to 4 weeks due to sciatica on his right side. He is out for the start of the 2025-26 NBA season.

James is entering his 23rd season in the NBA and his eighth in the purple and gold with the Lakers. As he's expected to miss the start of the regular season with the nerve injury, head coach JJ Redick and the Lakers will have to adjust the game plan.

Outside of the three main core pieces in Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, and LeBron James, the Lakers went out and picked up multiple new role pieces to help improve from their first-round exit in the postseason last year.

It will take multiple players to try and fill the void that James will be leaving, so expect players like Jake LaRavia, Jared Vanderbilt, and Dalton Knecht to get an increase in playing time for opening night against the Warriors.

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