EXPLAINER
Published On 22 Oct 2025
LeBron James, the superstar basketball player’s first NBA season start, will be missed for good in his distinguished 23-year professional career.
His absence is due to a medical condition known as sciatica, which affects both athletes and non-athletes.
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Basketball fans and pundits pondering what LeBron’s best outlook will be given the condition’s wide range of outcomes, from brief periods of rest and conservative treatment to permanent damage that can cause life-altering physical challenges.
The 40-year-old Los Angeles Lakers forward is likely to be back on the court when all is known about sciatica is revealed:
LeBron James won’t play for the NBA season, why?
James was informed on October 9 that the Lakers had a right-side sciatica issue and that he would miss the first few weeks of the NBA regular season, 2025-26.
In three to four weeks, James will be re-evaluated, according to the team.
Describe sciatica.
The longest and thickest nerve in the human body, the sciatic nerve, is compressed or irritated by compression or irritation.
The lower back’s and back’s of each leg’s legs are where the sciatic nerve originates, and it ends in the foot.
Lower back impairments, such as herniated or prolapsed disks in the lower spine, are primarily the cause of this nerve condition. They can be benign or severe.
James might also have piriformis syndrome, a less well-known medical condition that causes pain to radiate down the leg when the piriformis muscle in the buttock compresses or irritates the nearby sciatic nerve. Although it is more common in athletes than sciatica, the condition is known as pseudopiriformis syndrome (Piriformis syndrome).
When will James make another court appearance?
The Lakers stated that James would undergo a medical evaluation in the first few days of the injury announcement.
The All-Star forward will miss at least six to ten NBA games, according to that re-evaluation schedule, but it might turn out to be much more if the sciatica necessitates further medical care, such as surgery or conservative therapy.
Even if James’ sciatica has recovered by November, he would still need to work out for a while before he can play in an NBA game, which could delay his on-court return until December or even 2026.
What will happen to James’ NBA career over the long term?
James might start feeling better in a few weeks and never experience a sciatica recurrence.
Recurrent sciatica can occur throughout a person’s life, which could prompt surgical treatment if the nerve compression becomes severe at some point.
In the worst case scenario, James might not be able to recover from sciatica and may have to go through persistent, crippling nerve pain in his lower back, buttocks, and leg, which would require surgical treatment, potentially putting his basketball career on hold.
A few NBA players have historically had sciatic nerve releases, and some have since recovered sufficiently to play the game, but none of them are as old as James, who turns 41 in December.
