If James’ timeline is right, he could return on November 15 against the Milwaukee Bucks. He would have missed 13 games at that point, unless he makes a faster recovery in the coming weeks.
JJ Redick Makes His Feelings Clear on Missing LeBron James in Season Opener
Posted October 22, 2025
The Los Angeles Lakers were without LeBron James in their first game of the season against the Golden State Warriors. Lakers coach JJ Redick opened up about not having James on opening night at Crypto.com Arena.
“King James” was on the bench, supporting the team as he recovers from sciatica. Redick told reporters after their 119-109 loss how he realized that it would have been easier to have the 40-year-old star on the floor at one point during the game.
“It’s hard to forget about LeBron. The reality is when you’re focused on the group that you have, you got to make that group work… To be honest with you, I did have one moment in that first half when we had a few possessions, we couldn’t score against the zone, it’d be great to have LeBron just to throw it to in the high post,” Redick said.
James could have helped the Lakers win if he were healthy. Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves weren’t enough to prevent the Warriors from getting the victory. Doncic had 43 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists, while Reaves finished with 26 points, five rebounds and nine assists.
The Lakers won’t have “King James” for the rest of the month, possibly until the middle of November, as per ESPN’s Shams Charania. In addition to his recovery from sciatica, the four-time MVP also has to get his body and conditioning back. He was unable to do his typical offseason routine because of the nerve injury.
Draymond Green Trolls LeBron James
Despite their history in the NBA Finals, Draymond Green and LeBron James became real-life friends. Green was happy to troll James after the Warriors’ win over the Lakers on Tuesday night in Los Angeles.
Speaking at the postgame presser, Green was asked about playing the Lakers without James on the court. The former Defensive Player of the Year has jokes for his friend who was sitting good on the sidelines.
“LeBron’s old ass was over there in his Phil Jackson chair. It’s always different when he’s not out there. Obviously, we’ve had battles with Luka (Doncic) as well. He’s an incredible player, but ‘Bron is ‘Bron. The battles we’ve had over the years, you’re looking forward to it,” Green said.
Last Of Us Season 2 Star Learned About Gunshot Cliffhanger In Shocking Way
The Last of Us season 2 ended with several major developments. After Abby killed Jesse, she aimed her gun directly at Ellie, as the episode cut to black when a gunshot rang out.
That in and of itself could have worked as the only cliffhanger, but a bonus scene began after the mystery gunshot, showing Abby at the football stadium in Seattle, with “
Day 1” appearing on the screen, confirming that The Last of Us season 3 will go back and show the parts of Abby’s storyline that viewers didn’t get to see.
The gunshot scene, in which producers refrained from showing fans if Ellie actually got shot, came as a shock to Bella Ramsey, the actor who plays her. Ramsey revealed to
EW that the final part of that scene they filmed was when Ellie pleaded with Abby by saying, “No, no! Please, please, please!”
Ramsey wasn’t aware of the gunshot at all since it wasn’t filmed, though they admitted they would have to go back to the script to see if it was mentioned there at all. In fact, Ramsey found out about the gunshot from viewers after the finale aired. They had no idea what fans were talking about. Check out their comments below:
"[The rest of that moment] was not filmed. [The scene] was always going cut. You know what? I didn't even know there was gonna be a gunshot, which maybe I just missed very likely. But when the show came out and everyone was like, 'The gunshot! The gunshot!' I'm like, 'Huh? What do you mean? What gunshot?' I should actually go back and check the script to see whether the gunshot was written or whether I just missed it. But no, we cut on me going, 'No, no! Please, please, please!'"
What Bella Ramsay’s Shocking Discovery Means For The Last Of Us
If the gunshot wasn’t even mentioned in the script, then it means the producers went to extreme lengths to ensure that the cliffhanger didn’t leak out, and one way to do that would be to withhold important information from the cast.
Another way to prevent leaks as much as possible is to implement a closed set, which means only the essential cast and crew are on the set for a particular scene. When it comes to
The gunshot was merely an audio effect that could be added during post-production, which made it easier for the producers to skirt around this major moment in the finale during the filmmaking process.
Our Take On Last Of Us Producers Keeping The Gunshot Cliffhanger A Secret
The Last of Us is a hugely popular TV show, so everyone involved wants to make sure that viewers, especially those who haven't played the video games, are not spoiled ahead of time. It's a very smart strategy, and it clearly worked since Ramsey wasn't even aware the gunshot was added to the finale.
Regardless of how The Last of Us season 3 unfolds, hopefully, the producers craft it in a way that satisfies fans after season 2 received mixed reviews.
