Why is LeBron James not playing today against Golden State Warriors? Latest injury update from Lakers (October 7th)
NBA superstar LeBron James is not suiting up for the Los Angeles Lakers’ preseason game against the Golden State Warriors on October 7 in San Francisco, California. He is not nursing any injury but is looking to keep himself fresh when the 2023-24 NBA regular season tips off later this month.
According to ESPN, Saturday’s game against the Warriors will be one of at least three preseason matches that ‘The King’ intends to sit out. Apart from James, also expected to miss the game is Austin Reaves.
LeBron James will be entering his 21st season in the league when the brand-new NBA year starts. It will be his sixth year with the Lakers, who he helped win the title in 2020.
Last season, ankle injury limited the Ohio native to just 55 games. But he was still effective, leading the team in scoring with 28.9 points per game, to go along with 8.3 rebounds and 6.8 assists.
In the playoffs, he continued to take charge, with numbers of 24.5 points, 9.9 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 1.1 assists and 1.1 blocks in 16 games. The Lakers made it all the way to the Western Conference finals as the seventh seeds, taking down higher-ranked opponents, including No. 6 team Golden State in the semifinals, 4-2.
The 2022-23 NBA season was also a landmark one for LeBron James as it was where he broke the all-time record for most points scored in the NBA of 38,387, long-held by another Lakers great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. James scored his 38,388th point in a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on February 7, 2023.
The preseason game against the Warriors will begin at 8:30 p.m., Eastern Time, at the Chase Center. Following that, the Lakers will take on the Brooklyn Nets (October 10), Sacramento Kings (October 12), the Warriors (October 14), the Milwaukee Bucks (October 16), and the Phoenix Suns (October 20).
The Lakers begin their regular season campaign on October 25 in an away game against the reigning NBA champions Denver Nuggets.
LeBron James is now the NBA’s oldest active player
When future Hall-of-Famer LeBron James celebrates his 39th birthday in December, he officially becomes the oldest player rostered in an NBA team this season.
Born in 1984, the 38-year-old All-Star will be entering his 21st season in the NBA. He, however, has shown that he can still compete at a high level when needed, something he intends to continue doing.
After James, second oldest player is P.J. Tucker of the Philadelphia 76ers (born on May 5, 1985), followed by Chris Paul (Warriors/May 6, 1985), Taj Gibson (Washington/June 24, 1985), Kyle Lowry (Miami/March 25, 1986), Garrett Temple (Toronto/May 8, 1986), Al Horford (Celtics/June 3, 1986), Rudy Gay (Warriors/August 17, 1986), Jeff Green (Houston/August 28, 1986), and Wesley Matthews (Atlanta/October 14, 1986).