Lakers Hoping LeBron James Makes Major Sacrifice This Year

Nov 18, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA: Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves (15) is congratulated by forward LeBron James (23) and guard Luka Doncic (77) after a three-point basket in the second quarter at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Lakers are reportedly hoping 21-time All-NBA power forward LeBron James makes a big sacrifice in 2025-26.

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The four-time league MVP, who at 40 remains the league's oldest active player for the third year running, just made his return to the court for the first time this season on Tuesday, in a high-scoring 140-126 home victory against the Utah Jazz.

In 29:37, James scored 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the floor and 1-of-4 shooting from the foul line, dished out 12 assists, pulled down three rebounds, and swiped one steal. Whether he was surprisingly deferential, while All-NBA First Team guard Luka Doncic, shooting guard Austin Reaves, and center Deandre Ayton all scored 20 or more points for the third straight game.

James' Long-Term Season Plan

During a recent appearance on ESPN's "NBA Today," Lakers insider Dave McMenamin relayed to host Malika Andrews that an LA source is hopeful James will take more of a long-term approach with his regular season appearances, after missing the start of the season due to a lingering sciatica injury.

"Lebron can only miss 3 more games between now and the end of the regular season to be eligible for the awards including All-NBA. He's been an All-NBA player in the last 21 years straight. The source I spoke to today said hey at 41 years old I'd rather Lebron skip back to backs,… pic.twitter.com/B4g5uFtByc

— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) November 21, 2025

"The big question moving forward is not just, 'Can LeBron stay healthy and not have the sciatica creep back in,' and obviously LeBron is going through exercises and mobility drills in order to try to stave that off — but, 'Can he get his wind back [and] at the same time keep his body in the best shape in order to make it to the finish line?'" McMenamin said.

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James has been named to an All-NBA squad and an All-Star team for the past 21 consecutive seasons. Thanks to a recent league rule adjustment, he'll be ineligible for end-of-year and MVP honors if he isn't available for at least 65 games on the year. He has already sat out 14.

"LeBron can only miss three more games between now and the end of the regular season to be eligible for the awards including All-NBA. He's been an All-NBA player in the last 21 years straight," McMenamin said. "The source I spoke to today said, 'Hey, at 41 years old [James' birthday is Dec. 30] I'd rather LeBron skip back-to-backs, but we'll see how that aligns with his plans to may be eligible for All-NBA once again.'"

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