Sources: LeBron eyes live 5-on-5 play as next step

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James continues to work out individually while recovering from the sciatica affecting his lower back and right side, and the next step in his return will be progressing to live 5-on-5 reps in practice, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania on Wednesday.

James will not travel with the Lakers on their upcoming five-game trip through Atlanta, Charlotte, Oklahoma City, New Orleans and Milwaukee, sources told ESPN.

While the Lakers are on the road, their G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers, will be practicing at the team’s practice facility in El Segundo, California. It is unclear whether James would join South Bay for practices or wait for the Lakers to return for a group session, sources told Charania.

This means the earliest James could return is Nov. 18, when L.A. hosts the Utah Jazz.

Last week, Lakers coach JJ Redick revealed a rough timeline for when the team could welcome the 40-year-old back to the lineup.

«Obviously, this thing has to continue to progress with all of his return-to-play protocols,» Redick said. «So we don’t have, like, a target date. It’s just somewhere in that general timeline. We hope that he’s kind of checked all the boxes and is going to be back sometime in that second or third week in November.»

Thursday will mark four weeks since the Lakers announced James’ sciatica diagnosis on Oct. 9. At that time, the team said it would reevaluate him in three to four weeks and provide an update.

L.A. has started the season 6-2 without James.

Whenever James plays his first game for the Lakers, he will become the first player in league history to have played 23 seasons in the NBA.