LeBron James gets real on having sciatica

LeBron James is opening up about his sciatica injury.

“If you ain’t never had it, and people are making jokes about it, I pray you never get it,” James told reporters following his first practice with the Los Angeles Lakers this season on Nov. 17. “It’s not fun.”

Sciatica is a nerve pain that is in the lower back, buttocks, and leg, which is caused by an irritation of the sciatic nerve. Some symptoms of sciatica include pain, tingling, and numbness.

“Like I said, if you ever had it, you just go about it, you wake up one day, and you hope that when you step down out of the bed, you don’t feel it,” he continued. “You go to bed at night, and you hope that when you get into bed, you don’t feel it. So, I’ve been doing pretty good with it, as of late. It’s a lot of exercises, and a lot of mobility things, and a lot of things you can do to help it. So, I’m just keeping a positive mindset about it.”

While James shared that he wouldn’t go so far as to say he is “pain free,” he was cleared to play and returned to the court after missing the first 14 games due to a nerve injury. His return was a historic one at that, with the Lakers icon is now officially the longest career in league history, with 23 seasons.

“The pace tested me, but I was happy with the way I was able to go with the guys,” James said of his 2025-2026 debut against the Utah Jazz on Nov. 18. “As the game went on, my wind got a lot better. Caught my second wind, caught my third wind. Rhythm is still coming back, obviously. First game in almost seven months, so everything that happened tonight was to be expected.”

The Lakers dominated the Jazz with a 126-140 win. The teams will meet again for the Lakers’ next game on Sunday, Nov. 23. The Jazz have one game in between the re-match which will be against the 2025 NBA champions, Oklahoma City Thunder.