Lakers' JJ Redick Makes Honest LeBron James Admission After Loss to Warriors

Dec 6, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) talks to head coach JJ Redick against the Atlanta Hawks in the second quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James will miss time into November with sciatica in his right side, and his absence has already taken its toll on the Lakers early in the season.

The Lakers dropped their season opener to the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday, 119-109, and really could have used the NBA's all-time leading scorer.

Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves both turned in great offensive performances, though the rest of the team didn't perform up to standard in the loss.

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Doncic scored 43 points — ending the game one assist shy of a triple-double — and Reaves scored 26 points, but only one other Laker managed to reach double digits.

“It’s hard to forget about LeBron,” Redick said, per Dan Woike of The Athletic. “The reality is, when you’re focused on the group that you have, you gotta make that group work. Sometimes you can just be like, ‘Oh, my God, we’re gonna get LeBron back at some point.’ Like, it’s awesome, but you are focused.

'That'd Be Great to Have LeBron'

“I’ll be honest with you, I did have one moment in that first half when we had a few possessions, couldn’t score against the zone, I (thought), ‘That’d be great to have LeBron just to throw it to the high post.’”

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The Lakers will need to get used to life without LeBron, as the superstar isn't set to be re-evaluated by the team until the end of October. ESPN's Shams Charania provided a timeline for the forward's return ahead of the season.

"I'm told that the Lakers and LeBron are looking at around mid-November as a realistic debut for him," Charania said. "So, October 30th would be the earliest that the Lakers would be officially reevaluating LeBron James, but it is expected that he will need at least a few weeks after that point."

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The Lakers will head into their next game against the Minnesota Timberwolves without James, and will look to get some revenge for their crushing first-round loss in the NBA playoffs last season.

Their second game of the 2025-26 season begins Friday at 7:00 p.m. PT.

For more news and notes on the Los Angeles Lakers, visit Los Angeles Lakers on SI.