When Will LeBron Return? Latest Update on When King James Will Debut for Lakers

Will we be seeing LeBron James on the court anytime soon? Yes, though just how soon remains a bit murky.

The Lakers announced Thursday that the superstar forward has been cleared for "contact basketball activity" and will be "reevaluated by team physicians in approximately one to two weeks" as he continues to recover from sciatica.

Meanwhile, ESPN's Shams Charania already reported that James isn't traveling with the team on its upcoming five-game road trip and that team personnel "are still operating under the belief that James' debut will be around mid-November."

It's a pretty safe bet, then, that the absolute earliest we'll see James back on the court would be a home game against the Utah Jazz on Tuesday, Nov. 18. But the Lakers also have a big gap between that contest and their next game, a Nov. 23 matchup in Utah.

So the Lakers might take that extended absence to ensure that James is fully revved up in his conditioning and ready to go.

"Obviously, this thing has to continue to progress with all of his return-to-play protocols," head coach JJ Redick told reporters last week. "So we don't have, like, a target date. It's just somewhere in that general timeline. We hope that he's kind of checked all the boxes and is going to be back sometime in that second or third week in November."

The good news in Los Angeles is that the Lakers haven't missed a beat without James, starting the season 7-2. That also means there's little need to rush the 40-year-old James back as he embarks on his NBA-record 23rd season, though a rough road trip could perhaps alter that thinking somewhat.

But for now, a return on either Nov. 18 or Nov. 23 seems like a safe guess.