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Dave McMenamin, ESPN Staff WriterDec 11, 2024, 04:12 PM ET
- Lakers and NBA reporter for ESPN.
- Covered the Lakers and NBA for ESPNLosAngeles.com from 2009-14, the Cavaliers from 2014-18 for ESPN.com and the NBA for NBA.com from 2005-09.
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — The Los Angeles Lakers congregated as a team Wednesday for the first time since Sunday’s win over the Portland Trail Blazers, only an important figure was missing from the group: LeBron James.
“LeBron is not with the team right now,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said after practice. “He’s out for personal reasons, excused absence.”
James sat out the Blazers game because of soreness in his left foot. It was the first game James, 39, missed all season.
With the schedule providing a break — L.A. plays just two games in a 10-day stretch from Dec. 9-18 — Redick gave the entire team Monday off and designated Tuesday as an optional “get what you need” day.
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Redick met with many of the Lakers’ players individually Tuesday, but James was not present, the coach said.
The coach was asked about the upcoming break on Sunday and made it clear he would give his players the freedom to use the time as they deemed fit.
“Heck, if somebody wants to go spend a couple of nights in Santa Barbara and relax, that’s fine too,” Redick said after the Blazers game. “It’s a quarter way through the season.”
Redick added that James is currently “taking some time” and he was unclear whether the 22-year veteran would be back with the team for their next game, Friday on the road against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Lakers backup center Christian Koloko said James’ presence was missed, but he was not worried about him falling behind on the team’s schemes because of his absence.
“I mean, we know he already knows everything,” Koloko said. “He’s going to come back and he’s still going to be the same. He’s going to give everything on the court.
“We just got to do our part and just get better so that when he comes back, he can just look at us and be like, ‘Oh, yeah, [they] were actually working,’ when he wasn’t there. But we know he’ll come back and just pick up everything. He’s been in the NBA for a long time.”
LeBron James sat out his first game of the season Sunday against the Trail Blazers because of left foot soreness. Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images
On the season, James is averaging 23 points on 49.5% shooting (35.9% from 3), 9.1 assists and 8.0 rebounds. Redick said he is in constant communication with both James and his longtime athletic trainer, Mike Mancias, about managing the four-time MVP’s workload as he nears his 40th birthday at the end of the month.
“In game, he’s asked for a sub a couple times because he’s gassed,” Redick said. “For us, we have to be cognizant as we play more and more games, just the cumulative effect of playing a lot of minutes and Sunday, being banged up with the foot thing, it felt like a good opportunity for him to get some rest.”
Redick added that Lakers starting shooting guard Austin Reaves, who missed the past five games with a left pelvic injury, returned to practice Wednesday and was able to join his teammates for most of the drills.
“I wouldn’t call Austin a full participant,” Redick said. “There was one thing that he sat out that we suggested … that was probably not good for him, just due to the nature of the drill. It was particularly a physical drill and just want to be mindful of his pain tolerance. But he was full participant of all the 5-on-5, live stuff and all the breakdown drills.”
Reaves is considered day-to-day heading into the Minnesota game, according to Redick.
