Overview
- The 40-year-old was upgraded to available about 45 minutes before tipoff against the Jazz after moving from questionable earlier in the day.
- He missed training camp, preseason and the first 14 games with sciatica, then ramped up with South Bay Lakers work and completed full five-on-five before Monday’s full team practice.
- James acknowledged he needs conditioning time, joking he has “baby lungs,” and he is expected to operate under an early minutes limit.
- Los Angeles opened 10-4 without him behind strong starts from Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves.
- The Lakers reached full strength with Gabe Vincent returning, giving them all 14 players available for the first time this season.