EL SEGUNDO — The Lakers welcomed back a familiar face on Monday.
LeBron James practiced with the team for the first time after being sidelined for the last 1½ months because of sciatica on his right side, taking another significant step in his return-to-play process with his season debut imminent.
“My lungs feel like a newborn baby, that’s the most important thing,” a hoarse-voiced James said in his first media availability since the team’s preseason media day on Sept. 29. “I got to get my lungs back up to a grown man. My voice is already gone. One day back, barking out calls and assignments and stuff, getting my voice working again. Be a lot of tea and rest [Monday night].”
Coach JJ Redick said it hadn’t been determined as of Monday afternoon whether James, who will begin an unprecedented 23rd NBA season whenever he makes his debut, will be available for Tuesday night’s home game against the Utah Jazz.
Redick added that forward Rui Hachimura and guard Marcus Smart, both of whom sat out Saturday’s road win against the Milwaukee Bucks, are expected to be available on Tuesday.
Monday was the first time this season that all 14 Lakers players who are signed to standard NBA contracts practiced together.
The status of guard Gabe Vincent, who has been sidelined for three weeks because of a sprained left ankle, also wasn’t known as of Monday afternoon.
James offered insight into what will determine whether he makes his season debut on Tuesday.
“We’ve got a long time,” James said. “I mean, we’ve been taking literally one minute, one hour, one step at a time throughout this whole process. So see how I feel this afternoon, see how I feel tonight. When I wake up [Tuesday] morning, we’ll probably have shootaround. So, just gotta see how the body responds over the next 24 hours-plus.”
The 40-year-old star forward had never missed the start of a previous season.
“It sucks, it definitely sucks,” James said. “Never in my life, since I started playing the game of basketball, have I ever not started the season. “So it’s been a mind test, but I’m built for it. Been putting in the work, both mentally and physically, just trying to get myself ready to rejoin the team.”
James, who didn’t go so far as to say he’s pain-free as of Monday, shared that he dealt with sciatica two years ago during the offseason before the more recent flare-up.
“You had it, then you know what the hell it’s about,” the four-time league MVP said. “If you ain’t never had it and people are making jokes about it, I pray you never get it. It’s not fun.”
He added: “If you ever had it, you go about it and you wake up one day and you hope that when you step down from the bed that you don’t feel it. You go to bed at night. And you hope that when you’re in bed that you don’t feel it. So I’ve been doing pretty good with it as of late. [There are] 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.”
James practiced with the Lakers’ South Bay G League affiliate last week as part of his return-to-play process.
“It was great,” he said. “I appreciate the coaching staff and the players allowing me to, one, kind of change the practice detail a little bit. It’s very humbling. That’s the benefit of having a farm system, basically. The guys were going on that long road trip. I got cleared to play some five-on-five for the first time since hurting my MCL versus Minnesota. And that was the blessing. I got an opportunity to get a couple of runs in with them, a couple of practices in. So it’s a blessing.”
The Lakers started the season 10-4 without James, sitting in fourth place in the Western Conference standings entering Monday after going 3-2 on a five-game trip that ended with back-to-back wins over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday and the Bucks the following night.
“Seen a lot,” James said. “Obviously, the road trip went pretty good. Everybody enjoys being around each other and loves playing for one another. A lot of guys are sacrificing. For me, just seeing ways I can fit in organically. Right off the top, I know ways I can help this team right away when I am put back in the lineup.”
And the Lakers are confident in James’ ability to adapt to the group led by guards Luka Doncic (league-leading 34.4 points to go with 8.9 rebounds and 8.9 assists) and Austin Reaves (28.3 points, 8.2 assists and 5.1 rebounds).
“I would describe him as very adaptable,” Redick said of James. “Not just in my time, but he’s adapted throughout his career to the system, his teammates, what the game requires. The league has evolved. He’s evolved. That’s why he’s still in Year 23 and coming off of an All-NBA season in Year 22; he’s always been able to adapt. And again, the playing with Luka, playing with this version of AR, it’s not like he hasn’t done that already. He did it for 2½, three months last season. They know what each of them bring. And it’ll be fairly positive from the get-go.”
James’ teammates were excited to have him back in practice, and are eager for his season debut.
“He’s, in my opinion, the greatest player to ever touch a basketball,” Reaves said. “And I guarantee you, if you ask basically our whole team, a lot of the young guys would say he is their favorite player ever. So his presence, his ability to lift up a team, and obviously his IQ – it’s just good to have him back.”