Los Angeles Lakers forward and future NBA Hall-of-Famer, LeBron James, will be back in the rotation soon.

After spending time with Los Angeles’ G-League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers, James is now back with his NBA teammates and will take part in the purple and gold’s practice today, according to ESPN Insider Shams Charania. James has not played in a game all season, as he has been dealing with a sciatica injury that has kept him off the floor. 

ESPN (@espn) on X Breaking: LeBron James has been reassigned back to the Lakers from NBA G League South Bay and will be a full participant at Lakers practice on Monday, sources tell @ShamsCharania. James completed multiple days of practices and 5-on-5 sessions this week in the G League and his

Although his presence will be immediately welcomed, the Lakers have fared pretty well, all told, with James on the bench. 

How Have the Lakers Fared?

Through the first 14 games of the season, Los Angeles has put together a 10-4 record, and players have risen to the occasion when it comes to dealing with injuries and availability concerns up and down the roster. 

There was a game where Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves were both out of the lineup, but the team still found a way to defeat the Portland Trail Blazers back on Nov. 3. 

Neither of the duo that was supposed to lead the Lakers in James’ absence has played in every game of the young season, as Reaves has missed three games and Dončić has missed four games. Gabe Vincent has also been out since early in the campaign, having missed 11 games and counting with a left ankle injury. 

Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) on X Final Stats 📊 Luka: 41 pts, 9 reb, 6 ast AR: 25 pts, 6 reb, 8 ast DA: 20 pts, 10 reb, 9-13 FG Jaxson: 10 pts, 6 reb DK: 9 pts, 6 reb, +24

But Los Angeles has made do with the personnel it has had out on the court, and currently sit in fourth place in the Western Conference. And with James set to re-enter the lineup soon, the Lakers should be excited that they weathered likely the toughest storm of the season they will face and came out the other side in good standing. 

Ultimately, it has been an unconventional start to the 2025-26 season for the Lakers, as it’s not every day your four-time champion and four-time MVP – who is still a pivotal piece of your franchise at age 40 – goes down with an injury and misses the first slate of games. But again, the team has had different players step up at different times, and that has helped the Lakers off to such a promising beginning. Austin Reaves found some humor in the whole situation, as with James spending time with South Bay, his son, Bronny James, was playing quality minutes for Los Angeles.

Dave McMenamin (@mcten) on X “How about Bronny James starting in the NBA, and LeBron’s assigned to the G League? That’s fun. That’s awesome.” - Austin Reaves

“How ‘bout Bronny James starting in the NBA and LeBron’s assigned to the G-League,” Reaves said in a postgame interview following the Lakers’ win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Nov. 15. “That’s fun. That’s awesome.”

The Lakers’ next two games are against the Utah Jazz on Nov. 18 and Nov. 23. 

It is unclear whether James will be cleared for the Lakers’ first matchup against the Jazz, though it will be played at Crypto.com Arena, so if there were a time to take the floor for the first time this season, it would make sense to do it in front of Los Angeles’ home crowd.