LeBron James cleared for contact, return expected mid-November
The Los Angeles Lakers got some good news this week about LeBron James.
The 40-year-old superstar has been cleared for contact basketball activity, the team announced Thursday. James has been sidelined with sciatica – a painful nerve condition – since before the season started.
Team doctors will check on him again in one to two weeks, leaving his exact return date up in the air.
LeBron won’t be joining the team for their upcoming five-game road trip, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. Team insiders still believe he’ll make his season debut around mid-November.
That timeline points to the Lakers’ home game against the Utah Jazz on November 18 as his potential first appearance.
If he’s not quite ready by then, the team has a built-in cushion. They don’t play again until November 23 (also against Utah), giving LeBron extra recovery time if needed.
Head coach JJ Redick isn’t rushing things.
“Obviously, this thing has to continue to progress with all of his return-to-play protocols,” Redick told reporters last week. “So we don’t have, like, a target date. It’s just somewhere in that general timeline. We hope that he’s kind of checked all the boxes and is going to be back sometime in that second or third week in November.”
The Lakers have been surprisingly good without their leader, jumping out to a 7-2 start. Their improved defense and deeper bench have kept them winning while James recovers.
This hot start actually takes pressure off the team to rush LeBron back.
James is entering his 23rd NBA season – a league record – and the Lakers are clearly playing the long game with his health.
If all goes well, fans might see LeBron back on the court as soon as November 18. But don’t be shocked if the team waits until that November 23 game to make absolutely sure he’s ready for the grind ahead.
