How World Has Changed Since NBA Last Played Opening Day Without Lakers' LeBron James

For the first time in more than two decades, LeBron James is sitting out the NBA season opener.

James, who is sidelined with sciatica on his right side, will not be playing Tuesday night when the Lakers tip off against the visiting Golden State Warriors.

This marks the first time in 23 years that James has not been part of an Opening Night lineup.

A lot has changed since James made his NBA debut with the Cavaliers at age 18 on Oct. 29, 2003, by which time current stars like Victor Wembanyama and Paolo Banchero had yet to be born.

Just weeks prior, Chicago Cubs fan Steve Bartman had gotten involved in a controversial play during Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS against the Miami Marlins.

Tom Brady was one season removed from becoming the youngest quarterback to win a Super Bowl. The 26-year-old was preparing to lead the Patriots back into the playoffs after falling short in 2002.

Meanwhile in Spain, 16-year-old Lionel Messi was still working his way up through the ranks of FC Barcelona's youth teams.

Serena Williams, 22, had just completed her first career "Serena Slam" in which she simultaneously held the French Open, Wimbledon, U.S. Open and Australian Open titles.

Outside of sports, iTunes had just been launched, School of Rock was topping the box office and Arnold Schwarzenegger had just been elected governor of California.

As pointed out by Bet MGM, USB flash drives didn't exist yet, and neither did Facebook:

James began his first NBA season by racking up 25 points for the Cavaliers while playing almost 43 minutes in a season-opening loss to the Sacramento Kings that night in 2003.

James made seven Opening Night appearances for the Cavs before he joined the Miami Heat ahead of the 2010-11 season. He scored 31 points while making his Heat debut alongside Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh at the Boston Celtics on Oct. 26, 2010.

After four seasons with the Heat, James returned to the Cavs for four more season-openers before signing with the Lakers in 2018. He opened the 2018-19 season and made his Lakers debut by scoring 26 points in a loss at the Portland Trail Blazers.

James was once more on track for a milestone Opening Night this fall. Not only is the Lakers star set to become the first player in NBA history to play in a 23rd season, but Tuesday night's game would have marked his first time starting a season alongside Luka Dončić.

Instead James will stay on the sideline while Dončić, who is appearing in his first season-opener since last winter's midseason trade from the Dallas Mavericks, leads the Lakers against Stephen Curry and the Mavericks.

Dončić will likely continue taking on a larger role on the Lakers' offense until James, who is expected to sit out at least until mid-November, is able to return.