November 19, 2025
‘If you ain’t never had it, and people are making jokes about it, I pray you never get it. It’s not fun.’
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James spoke about his experience with sciatica before making a historic debut in his first NBA game this season.
According to ESPN, James told reporters during practice Nov. 17, that he had suffered from sciatica two years ago and that “it’s not fun” having to deal with it. According to Cleveland Clinic, sciatica is nerve pain from an injury or irritation of the sciatic nerve. The condition prevented James from playing this season thus far, but he returned to the court Nov. 18, making history as the first player in NBA history to play in 23 seasons.
“If you ain’t never had it, and people are making jokes about it, I pray you never get it,” James said. “It’s not fun.”
“You wake up one day and you hope that when you step down from the bed that you don’t feel it. You go to bed at night, and you hope that when you’re in the bed that you don’t feel it. So, I’ve been doing pretty good with it as of late.”
The Laker did state that he had maintained a positive mindset throughout, reaching the point of returning to the court.
“There’s a lot of exercises and a lot of mobility things and a lot of things you can do to help it. So, I’m just keeping a positive mindset.”
After participating in his first practice of the season, he stated that he has to get his lungs back in shape before being on the court again. He needs to get back in game shape to help the team, although they’ve done extremely well in his absence (11-3).
“My lungs feel like a newborn baby,” James said. “That’s the most important thing. I got to get my lungs back up to a grown man. My voice is already gone. One day back, barking out calls and assignments and stuff, getting my voice working again. [There will] be a lot of tea and rest tonight.”
James made his debut and had a double-double to start his season when he scored 11 points and dished out 12 assists in the victory over the Utah Jazz, 140-125. During the game, he did surpass sharp-shooting Indiana Pacer legend, Reggie Miller, when he drained two three-point shots to move into sixth place for the most three-pointers made in NBA history, according to NBA.com.
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