LOS ANGELES — It's official: LeBron James will make his season debut Tuesday night at home when the Lakers host the Utah Jazz.
He is listed in the starting five, though he is likely to be on a minutes limit in his first few games.
"I thought he looked great," Lakers coach J.J. Redick said of LeBron's practice with the team Monday. "He's smart enough and there's enough carryover from last year, both with personnel and with our schemes, that I think it'll be, you know, easy for him to be integrated right away."
LeBron started suffering from sciatica on his right side back in August, and it caused him to miss all of training camp as well as the first 14 games of the season. The Lakers and James' medical team had agreed not to rush his return, and mid-November has long been the target date.
LeBron was assigned to the Lakers' G-League team last week to get in a couple of full practices, then was recalled and went through a full practice with the varsity Lakers on Monday. "Got to see how the body responds over the next 24 hours-plus," he said after the practice.
He obviously felt well enough to play.
"My lungs feel like a newborn baby," LeBron said after Monday's practice. "That's the most important thing: I've got to get my lungs back up to a grown man. My voice is already gone (from) one day back barking out calls and assignments and stuff. Got to get my voice working again. Be a lot of tea and rest tonight. Feels good to be out here with the guys. Missed them."
By stepping on the court tonight, LeBron will set a record by becoming the first player to play in 23 NBA seasons.
LeBron averaged 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 8.2 assists per game last season, earning Second Team All-NBA honors and coming in sixth in MVP voting. He makes the Lakers' offense much more dangerous. While Redick has the Lakers running the offense through Luka Doncic, more and more teams are blitzing and trapping Doncic more to get the ball out of his hands and dare any other Laker on the floor to beat them. That ball now goes to LeBron, who gets to lead an attack on the defense in a 4-3 situation when that happens.
After Tuesday's game, the Lakers are off until Sunday, when they face the Jazz in Salt Lake City. At that point, they return home to face the Clippers in a critical West Group B NBA Cup game, which you can watch on Nov. 25 on NBC and Peacock.
How to Watch the NBA on NBC and Peacock
Peacock NBA Monday will stream up to three Monday night games each week throughout the regular season. Coast 2 Coast Tuesday presents doubleheaders on Tuesday nights throughout the regular season on NBC and Peacock. On most Tuesdays, an 8 p.m. ET game will be on NBC stations in the Eastern and Central time zones, and an 8 p.m. PT game on NBC stations in the Pacific and often Mountain time zones. Check local listings each week. Both games will stream live nationwide on Peacock. NBC Sports will launch Sunday Night Basketball across NBC and Peacock on Feb. 1, 2026. For a full schedule of the NBA on NBC and Peacock, click here.
