Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James is inching closer to a return. James was reportedly assigned to the G League on Wednesday after he was cleared to take part in practice for the first time this season, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
James is expected to practice in full, including taking part in 5-by-5 drills, per Charania.
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James, 40, has been sidelined since training camp due to sciatica. He’s battled the injury since camp opened, and missed the entire preseason due to the issue. While it initially appeared James had a chance to recover in time for the regular season, it was eventually determined he would miss three-to-four weeks due to the injury.
That timeline forced James to miss the team’s season-opener against the Golden State Warriors. Without James, the Lakers fell 119-109 in that game.
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The team recovered from that loss nicely, and sits at 8-3 despite James missing the entire regular season and Luka Dončić missing four games due to his own injury.
Though James is inching closer to a return, the Lakers have not set a timetable for his first game. The team will likely see how James performs in practice before making that call.
James has his eyes on another championship as he prepares to begin his 23rd season in the NBA. Despite his age, James still put up excellent numbers last season, averaging 24.4. points, 8.2 assists and 7.8 rebounds with the Lakers.
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This story will be updated.