The Los Angeles Lakers are without the services of LeBron James for Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans at Crypto.com Arena. James is sitting out due to left foot injury management, and Lakers head coach JJ Redick was asked pregame whether something had happened during Friday’s 129-119 win over the Dallas Mavericks.
“It is an injury he has had in the past,” Redick said, via Spectrum SportsNet. “It’s something we had to manage in the past. Given the back-to-back and the fact that he is basically just coming off his training camp. This has been his training camp over the last 10 days or so. So, just being cautious.”
James was not a full participant at any point at the Lakers’ training camp due to sciatica and then missed the first 14 games of this 2025-26 season with it. The 40-year-old’s preparation for this campaign has been far from ideal, and being cautious is the way to go.
This game against the Pelicans is the first of a back-to-back for the Lakers, as they take on the Phoenix Suns at Crypto.com Arena on Monday. Having James play in both of those games this early into his return might not have been ideal.
James and the Lakers are keeping the long term in mind, and he can afford to sit out against this Pelicans team. The visitors enter this game with a woeful 3-17 record, and to make matters worse, they are also without seven players. The 12-9 Suns pose a far more difficult challenge for the Lakers.
As for whether James will play back-to-backs later in the season, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reported that Redick mentioned that he will.
“JJ Redick does not rule out LeBron James playing in back-to-backs as the season progresses. ‘We’re going to build him up,’ Redick said before the Pelicans game. Redick said the coaching staff and LeBron both have interest in him playing in b2bs moving forward.”
The Lakers’ next back-to-back is against the Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics on Dec. 4 and 5, respectively. They won’t have another one the rest of the year, so it’s likely that James’ first back-to-back will be at some point in 2026. That has worked out well for him and the Lakers.
James’ missing this game against the Pelicans does mean, though, that it is very likely that one of his greatest streaks will come to an end this season. He has made one of the All-NBA teams 21 years in a row, and the chances of him making it 22 look slim.
Players must feature in 65 games in a season to be eligible for awards and honors, and this is the 15th contest James has missed. He can only miss two more the rest of the way, and it’d be a shock if he doesn’t sit out more games.
With the likes of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves shining this season, James doesn’t need to force himself to play more either. Despite his missing a significant chunk of the season, the Lakers have an impressive 14-4 record. They just need James, who is averaging 16.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 8.3 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game in 2025-26, to be as healthy as possible come playoffs, so expect them to be cautious with him the rest of the way.
