LAKERS, LEBRON
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Jarred Vanderbilt #2, LeBron James #23, and Rui Hachimura #28 of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on during a timeout in the second half of a game against the Phoenix Suns at Acrisure Arena on October 03, 2025 in Palm Springs, California.
The Los Angeles Lakers can’t seem to catch a break on the injury front. Shortly after news broke on Wednesday that LeBron James is unlikely to return before mid-November, Jarred Vanderbilt went down in a preseason game.
During the Lakers’ preseason loss to the Dallas Mavericks, Vanderbilt suffered a left quad contusion when he collided with Dereck Lively II in the second quarter, according to Spectrum SportsNet’s Mike Trudell. He did not return to the court.
Jarred Vanderbilt will not return tonight due to a left quad contusion that came on a 2nd Q collision with Lively.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) October 16, 2025
Vanderbilt missed 46 games last season due to a foot and a groin injury and similarly sat out 53 games in 2023-24 with a severe heel injury. The 3-and-D wing also suffered back issues in the 2022-23 season, causing him to miss 30 games for the Utah Jazz and later the Lakers, following a midseason trade to Los Angeles.
As such, the Lakers have good reason to be wary about Vanderbilt missing significant time again in the 2025-26 season.
Lakers Have Injury Concerns
It would prove to be a devastating blow for the Lakers, given head coach JJ Redick’s high expectations for Vanderbilt, one of his best perimeter defenders. At the start of training camp, Redick said Vanderbilt and Marcus Smart would fill the massive void of a point-of-attack defender on the Lakers, a year after the team’s defensive struggles.
“I’ve been very impressed by just the amount of work that he’s done this summer on his game, and obviously, his body is significantly better than this time last year, or even, when the season ended,” Redick said of Vando.
“You know, he’s moving better, his handle is, I’d never have ever seen him make a euro decel finish, you. know it’s good. He’s been working on his game and this shot is sort of the big thing with him. If he can be a consistent three-point shooter for us, that unlocks a lot.”
LeBron to Miss Season Opener
After being forced to start 24 different lineups last year, Redick was hoping for better luck this season on the injury front. Instead, LeBron James is set to miss considerable time, while Maxi Kleber (quad) and rookie Adou Thiero (knee) are also out.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Lakers don’t plan to rush LeBron back, and could hold off on his season debut until mid-November.
“I’m told that the Lakers and LeBron are looking around mid-November as a realistic debut for him,” he told ESPN’s “NBA Today” on October 15. “And so, October 30th would be the earliest that the Lakers would be officially re-evaluating LeBron James.
“It is expected he will need at least a few weeks after that point. A source told me tonight that LeBron will be taking a ‘patient approach’ with this rehab from nerve injury and so the ramp up process for this will be a lot of basketball shaped conditioning work.”