The Los Angeles Lakers will begin NBA Cup play on Friday night against Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies.
The franchise’s persistent injuries have been the story of their 2025-26 campaign thus far.
Adou Thiero, Maxi Kleber, and Gabe Vincent, and Luka Doncic have all missed multiple contests, but Doncic could be back in the Lakers’ lineup vs. the Grizzlies (he was recently upgraded from questionable to probable).
However, LeBron James, Los Angeles’ 6-foot-9 star forward, doesn’t share that outlook at this stage of the year.
Why LeBron James isn't playing tonight vs. the Grizzlies
According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, a mid-November return is still in play for James, who continues to deal with sciatica on his right side.
There’s no question that James isn’t having a challenging time being on the outside looking in. The 40-year-old doesn’t want time to slip away as his retirement begins to creep closer. However, James has done a tremendous job of operating as a supportive teammate in the meantime.
James hasn’t hesitated to uplift Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic on X/Twitter after their mesmerizing scoring clinics, showing that he can remain engaged while he waits to make his first appearance of the season.
Once James is cleared for action and has an opportunity to find his groove with the new look Lakers, it’ll be easy to assess the organization’s 2025-26 ceiling.
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