The Los Angeles Lakers play their final preseason game on Friday against the Sacramento Kings; they enter with a 1-4 record in the preseason, while the Kings have gone 0-3.
With the Lakers hoping for a momentum win ahead of their 2025-26 NBA regular season opener, the team will unfortunately have to do so without two big names — LeBron James (sciatica) and his son Bronny James (ankle sprain).
LeBron’s absence stems from right-side sciatica that the team announced would keep him out through the start of the regular season and be re-evaluated in a few weeks; recent updates indicate a cautious timeline that targets a mid-November return.
Bronny’s ankle sprain has been treated as day-to-day by the Lakers. The team’s player updates show he was ruled out of Wednesday’s preseason game and remains unavailable for Friday’s tune-up, costing the second-year guard his last chance for exhibition reps before opening night.
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The Lakers’ preseason performances have been uneven due to several absences. Outside of LeBron, starters Deandre Ayton, Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic have all played limited minutes, leaving the team to rely on depth pieces like Gabe Vincent, Jarred Vanderbilt, Jake LaRavia and others.
The game ultimately won’t mean anything in the standings, but LeBron’s sciatica and Bronny’s ankle sprain still remove two familiar names from Friday’s finale and underline a preseason that never reached full strength.
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Opening night at Crypto.com Arena is Tuesday, Oct. 21, against the Golden State Warriors (NBC/Peacock). With LeBron unavailable for the early slate, the burden will fall to Doncic, Ayton and backcourt pieces like Reaves, Vincent and the newly acquired Marcus Smart to set the tone.
The Warriors have managed a 3-1 record in the preseason while dealing with their own set of injuries, notably to forward Jimmy Butler (ankle). However, Butler, forward Draymond Green (who sat out Tuesday’s game due to rest) and guard Steph Curry are all expected to be ready for the season opener, giving Golden State the slight edge as L.A. awaits LeBron’s return.
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