LeBron James has yet to play a game so far in the 2025-26 NBA season as the 40-year-old deals with a sciatica injury.
James does appear to be nearing a return to play, however, after joining the L.A. Lakers for practice last week without any setbacks. The four-time NBA champion has been upgraded to questionable for LA's game against the Utah Jazz, which means he could very well make his season debut at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday.
The Lakers have fared well without James so far, owning a 10-4 record which has them in fourth place in the Western Conference standings.
But with all the time he's already missed this season, and the possibility of the aging icon sitting out for more games down the stretch, LeBron is at risk of losing one of the more unique streaks in NBA history.
LeBron James' All-NBA Streak at Risk
LeBron James
James has been named to a record 21 All-NBA teams during his legendary career — six more than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Tim Duncan and Kobe Bryant, who are all tied for second.
In fact, LeBron has earned an All-NBA selection in all but one of his seasons in the NBA, which was in his rookie year — when he won the Rookie of the Year award and finished ninth in MVP voting. That's 21 consecutive years of being among the top-15 players in the Association.
LeBron James - All-NBA Selections
Total
21
But the four-time MVP is at risk of seeing his legendary streak come to an end, as he might not meet the minimum requirement for games played in a season to be eligible for All-NBA selection. All-NBA selection rules require a player to play at least 65 regular-season games — and play at least 20 minutes in those games — to be eligible to earn All-NBA honors.
The new rule was only introduced ahead of the 2023-24 season. Had this rule been in effect at the beginning of James' NBA career, he would've been ineligible for four of his selections — 2011-12, 2018-19, 2021-22 and 2022-23 (without including COVID-shortened seasons).
James has missed 14 games so far this season, which means he's only four DNPs away from losing All-NBA eligibility for this year.
Considering LeBron hasn't played a full 82-game season since the 2017-18 campaign, the odds aren't looking too favorable for James right now.
Lakers Rolling Without LeBron
Doncic Reaves Laravia Lakers
The Lakers haven't missed LeBron too much so far this season, with the new face of the franchise, Luka Dončić, starting to take over in Hollywood.
Doncic leads the Lakers in scoring with a remarkable 34.4 points per game, while grabbing 8.9 rebounds and dishing 8.9 assists per game.
Austin Reaves has continued his ascension into stardom, averaging 28.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 8.2 assists in 11 games this season. Center DeAndre Ayton has also been a revelation in the front-court, scoring 16.2 points per game in 13 appearances.
Los Angeles Lakers - 2025-26 Stats
Category
Net Rating
Offensive Rating
Defensive Rating
While the Lakers' underlying numbers are mostly league-average, they've been remarkably efficient shooting the ball, topping the NBA in shooting percentage at 50.4 percent.
Los Angeles has shot a surprisingly low 33.8 percent from beyond the arc (24th), but they have concentrated the bulk of their scoring in two-point territory, scoring 51.6 points per game in the paint (11th) and taking 60.6 percent of their shots (10th) from within the three-point line.
J.J. Redick might have to look into diversifying the offense if his team hopes to emerge as a true title contender, and James' elite playmaking and creativity could certainly go a long way towards achieving when he makes his long-awaited return to the floor.