LeBron James Opts Out of Lakers Preseason Opener on Saturday

LeBron James won’t be hitting the court in the Lakers’ preseason opener against the Warriors. He made this announcement during a media interaction, saying via ESPN, “Six preseason games, so hopefully I can get to at least half of them. But we’ll see. I think every game will dictate it. I will not be playing in Saturday’s game, that’s for sure, in the Bay. But we’ll see after that.”

At this point in his career, LeBron is prioritizing his health in the early part of the season. Preseason games aren’t critical for a player of his caliber.

Lakers’ head coach, Darvin Ham, explained their approach to keeping LeBron in top shape as he begins his remarkable 21st season. 

Ham said, “We collaborate and communicate on what those steps will be. We make sure we come up with an effective plan. The beautiful thing about the way we move forward is one, he’s in phenomenal shape; two, he’s probably got more years in experience outside of [Anthony Davis] than the entire team combined in terms of games played and minutes played. And he takes phenomenal care of himself.”

It’s important to note that LeBron missed 27 games last season due to a right foot injury. Fans hope he’ll stay injury-free this season.

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