Oct 28, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA: Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick with forward LeBron James (23) against the Phoenix Suns at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Lakers’ JJ Redick Provides Ominous Update on LeBron James Sciatica Injury

Originally posted on Los Angeles Lakers on SI
By Alex Kirschenbaum | Last updated Oct 14, 2025 6:00 PM ET

Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick has supplied an ominous update on 21-time All-NBA superstar power forward LeBron James' new sciatica injury.

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The 6-foot-9 vet, who at 40 is the league's oldest active player (and has been in each of the past two seasons), has apparently been struggling with that ailment since the summer, and will be re-evaluated after the first week or two of the 2025-26 regular season.

Per Jovan Buha of "Buha's Block," Redick seemed to keep James' projected return timeline a bit open-ended.

JJ Redick on LeBron James’ sciatica diagnosis: “You hope he can be back soon. Those things can be tricky.”
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) October 11, 2025

“You hope he can be back soon," Redick said. "Those things can be tricky.”

The four-time league MVP has been largely healthy across each of the last two regular seasons, appearing in 71 games in 2023-24 and 70 in 2024-25. But his health hasn't always extended to the playoffs, as he has battled injuries in two of his last three playoff appearances.

That's the kind of thing that just happens as you head into your record-extending 23rd NBA season. Other 40-year-olds have enjoyed productive runs, but no one has averaged 24.4 points on .513/.376/.782 shooting splits, 8.2 assists, 7.8 rebounds, 1.0 steals and 0.6 blocks a night.

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James, by the way, is just six months his friend Redick's junior. Redick was drafted three years after James, with the No. 11 pick in the 2006 NBA Draft. He retired in 2021, after a largely successful 15-year pro career.

The Lakers will be leaning a bit more heavily on All-Defensive Team guard Luka Doncic and prolific guard Austin Reaves. Doncic, 26, and Reaves, 27, are both in the midst of their athletic primes still, while the still-powerful James is far past his.

The Lakers' Big Three

Los Angeles' season will rise or fall based on how well this trio can work together, to a large degree, although the team's supporting cast will need to be the best version of itself for the Lakers to truly thrive.

Doncic, Reaves and James are all solid on-ball creators, capable of distributing and scoring at a high level. None are particularly great defenders now, although in his Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers-era prime James was a six-time All-Defensive Teamer.

It may behoove Redick to explore lineups where he staggers the trio into groups of two, so perhaps this window without James could prove beneficial.