The Los Angeles Lakers have had an exciting start to the season despite being quite depleted. With Austin Reaves and Luka Dončić missing a few games each due to injury, the team has had to scramble to figure things out.
Luckily, they’ve done so successfully.
With all of those injuries going on, there has been one specifically that has plagued the organization for every game of the season thus far. That is the right sciatica injury sustained by LeBron James in the offseason.
After missing every preseason game, James has yet to play in any of the team’s regular-season games. While it hasn’t negatively affected them, it’s obviously a plus to have the NBA’s all-time leading scorer suiting up for your team.
Fortunately for the Lakers, James appears to be very close to a return.
MORE: Luka Doncic's reaction to LeBron James' impending injury return says it all
LeBron to begin work with Lakers G League team
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that LeBron has been assigned to the Lakers' G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers, to practice with them on Wednesday.
It will be his first full practice of the season.
While the thought of the Lakers' G League squad attempting to slow down even an injured and 40-year-old James is hilarious, this is big news. Why? It signals that the initial estimated return of mid-November is tracking.
How James' return will eventually impact the Purple and Gold is another story entirely.
One would think that getting back a player who has consistently averaged 25-7-7 could be nothing but a good thing. When you look at the Lakers this season, however, it will be interesting to see how his play style impacts others.
Reaves has been absolutely stellar next to Dončić this season, and their chemistry is through the roof. When you throw in the high usage of James into the mix, what does that do to their productivity?
We’ll find out soon enough now that LeBron is on his way back to action.
More Lakers news:
- Ranking the 9 worst trades in NBA history
- NBA executive believes Austin Reaves is perfect free-agent fit for Nets
- Are Lakers hiring Nico Harrison? Explaining viral post about former Mavericks GM
- Cade Cunningham is the first to do this since Kobe Bryant in 2002