LeBron James took part in full 5-on-5 practice with the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday, marking his first time doing so since last year’s playoffs.
After the workout, James said the team has been extremely cautious throughout his recovery from sciatica, which has kept him out of the Lakers’ first 14 games.
“We’ve been taking it literally one minute, one hour, one step at a time throughout this whole process,” James said.
“So, see how I feel this afternoon, see how I feel tonight. When I wake up in the morning, we’ll probably have shootaround. So, just got to see how the body responds over the next 24 hours-plus.”
The forward is officially listed as questionable for Tuesday’s game against the Utah Jazz, and head coach JJ Redick described his status as “TBD.”
James noted that this is only the second time in his career he has dealt with a sciatica issue.
He also admitted that while returning to the court is a key step, he still needs time to regain full conditioning.
“My lungs feel like a newborn baby. That’s the most important thing. I got to get my lungs back up to a grown man,” James joked.
“My voice is already gone. One day back, barking out calls and assignments and stuff, getting my voice working again. [There will] be a lot of tea and rest tonight.”
LeBron James Practices With Lakers, Questionable For Tuesday Versus Jazz https://t.co/pOUZbZ2lti
— RealGM (@RealGM) November 18, 2025
