Hello LeBron James, the 23rd countdown is almost over: “It’s exciting!”

LeBron James is back in training with the Los Angeles Lakers and has begun the countdown to his season debut, which will mark his 23rd campaign – the first player in history to reach that milestone.

“It was great having him with the group for the first time,” head coach JJ Redick said. “This is the first time we’ve had all 14 players available for a practice, so it’s exciting.”

The ‘King’ had not trained with the first team sincesuffering from The King hadn’t trained with the first team since late September, when he began dealing with sciatic nerve issues — pain that runs from the glutes down the back of the legs — just before the start of the NBA season. If everything continues to go well, he’ll play his first game on Tuesday night at Crypto Arena against the Utah Jazz.

“If you’ve ever had sciatica, you know you wake up one day hoping that when you get out of bed you won’t feel it. You go to sleep at night hoping that when you get into bed you won’t feel it. Lately I’ve been doing pretty well. There are a lot of mobility exercises and activities you can do to ease it, so I’m staying positive,” James said.

LeBron also joined the South Bay Lakers’ G League practice sessions to speed up his recovery before rejoining the first team, which has opened the season with a strong 10–4 record despite injuries.

Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves have been the team’s main driving forces, helping them sit fourth in the Western Conference. The recent arrival of center Deandre Ayton has also given the group a significant boost.

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