The Los Angeles Lakers opened their season with a 119-109 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday, though the team had a notable absence from its lineup.
Four-time NBA MVP LeBron James missed a regular-season opener for the first time in his career and is expected to remain sidelined until around mid-November due to sciatica. According to ESPN's Shams Charania, the superstar has been dealing with the nerve issue since late July or early August, and he'll be taking a “patient approach” to his return.
With James sidelined, the Lakers relied heavily on Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, with the pair totaling 69 points, 18 assists and 17 rebounds while shooting a combined 60.5 percent from the field.
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Austin Reaves jokes about LeBron James’ retirement
Reaves discussed not having James on the floor during a postgame interview, emphasizing that everyone needs to step up to help replace his all-around production.
“Obviously, when you're missing a guy like Bron, you're not going to fill that with one person,” Reaves said. “I need to do something a little better, Luka needs to do something a little better, Rui's got to pitch in a little more. Like I said, you can't do what he does with one person. If I was LeBron James, I probably would've retired by now.”
The full response with question: https://t.co/t46YLinPbk pic.twitter.com/8xo45hL44W
— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) October 22, 2025
The Lakers will continue trying to fill the void left by James’ absence as a collective. While Gabe Vincent, Jake LaRavia and Jarred Vanderbilt will likely continue to see an uptick in minutes without James, Reaves and Doncic will remain the offensive engine of the Lakeshow.
The Lakers now set their sights on Friday's matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves, who eliminated Los Angeles in the opening round of the playoffs last season. Doncic and Reaves will look to improve their efficiency from beyond the arc in that game after both shot just 20 percent from three-point range against Golden State.
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