For the first time this season, LeBron James was a full participant in practice on Monday for the Lakers as he entered the final stage of his return to play.
The good news is that there were no setbacks
for LeBron during the practice. The bad news, at least for now, is that there is no more clarity on his status for Tuesday’s game against the Jazz.
LeBron also spoke to the media for the first time this regular season, noting the biggest takeaway from the practice is how (predictably) poor his conditioning was. He also said that his status for Tuesday’s game would be determined at least in part to how he feels after shootaround on Tuesday morning.
Very interesting, LeBron also revealed that this isn’t the first time he’s dealt with sciatica. Two years ago during the offseason, he also dealt with sciatica, so this isn’t a new injury.
Fans were none the wiser as, assuming it happened in the 2023 offseason, LeBron then proceeded to play 71 games, his most in a season as a Laker.
If you’re looking for a silver lining, looking to the 2023-24 season where LeBron still was a fixture in the lineup would be an easy one to find.
Given how things have progressed so far, it’s fair to have optimism about LeBron’s potential status for Tuesday’s game. While it won’t be known until game time most likely, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him suit up against the Jazz for his league debut.
Hopefully, that will allow him to get back his grown man lungs.
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