When the Los Angeles Lakers play the Golden State Warriors in their preseason opener on Saturday, LeBron James will not be in the lineup

However, James and the Lakers don’t give a damn. James is “100% healthy,” despite being the oldest player in the league and having missed 27 games last season because of a right foot issue.

Coach Darvin Ham stated via ESPN on Thursday that “he looks fine.” “He resembles LeBron in his third or fourth year.”

James finished his sixth season with the Lakers with an average of 28.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 6.8 assists. Except for the truncated COVID-19 season in 2020, which lasted just 67 games in the regular season before James led the Lakers to a title in the Walt Disney World bubble, James has not played a complete season since moving to Los Angeles due to injuries.

James is now the oldest player still playing in the NBA after Miami Heat center Udonis Haslem retired, even though he is well aware of his advanced age—he will turn 39 in December.

James stated that he intends to attend the minimum of five of the Lakers’ six preseason games. They play the Brooklyn Nets in their second game on Monday in Las Vegas. On October 19, they play the Phoenix Suns in Palm Springs to conclude the preseason.

Still, we’ll see. According to James, each game will decide it (via ESPN).”I’m not going to participate in the Bay game on Saturday, that much is certain. However, after that, we’ll see.

LeBron James stated that he intends to participate in three of the six preseason games that the Lakers will play this autumn. (Source: Getty Images / Jayson Otamias/Anadolu Agency)(Getty Images / Anadolu Agency)

The Lakers and the recently-crowned NBA champion Denver Nuggets will square off on October 24 to start the regular season.

The Lakers, who lost to the Nuggets in the conference finals the previous season, would surely benefit from a quick start, but Ham is aware that James doesn’t require one. For the next month or so, there’s no need to take any chances.

“[He’s] just kind of easing into it,” ESPN reported that Ham stated. “He doesn’t have to come into the season wearing his cape, so to speak, because of the makeup of our roster. He won’t have to give it his all in every practice and preseason game because to the support system around him.”