LeBron James has two injuries the 76ers are already treating originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Father Time has always been undefeated in the NBA. Regardless of how long a career is, age and fatigue will always come to haunt a player. LeBron James has avoided both for a long time. However, something seems different as he enters the 2026-27 NBA season. What seems to be the problem? Well, the Philadelphia 76ers are already taking precautions because of two concerning injuries that have surfaced before the start of their regular season.
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76ers unveil two concerning LeBron James injuries before NBA season start
Injuries rarely keep LeBron James out of games. He has gone on to go on the court during nights when excruciating pain ran amok in his body. This has become more prevalent in recent years. He has been sidelined more often for load management and to avoid fatigue. On some nights, some injuries have also just been too much for James to play through; that’s why he gets deactivated from the rotation.
All of these usually happen in the middle of the season. Typically, James is ready to go when the season starts. However, this time it might be different as he enters his first stint with the 76ers. Why is that? It seems he’s already being treated for two injuries heading into the 76ers’ 2026-27 82-game campaign, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
“And there is special attention paid to his left foot, which has chronic arthritis, sources told ESPN, and his lower back, which caused him to miss the first month of last season because of sciatica,” the NBA insider declared.
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Notably, this foot injury has been recurring for James. During his time with the Los Angeles Lakers, he already missed time to deal with this pain. In fact, this is the most recurring pain that he has been treating in the past year. James had to sit out certain games during November, January, February, and April. This will clearly keep him out of Coach Nick Nurse’s system for a bit during the 2026-27 NBA season.
Moreover, this reported lower back pain is also nothing new for James. His sciatica has also been a recurring problem that the 76ers have to deal with. In his 2025-26 run with the Lakers, James couldn’t play because of the same pain in October, November, and December.
This raises a lot of questions. First, retirement is likely nearing for James, as these chronic pains probably won’t slow down if he keeps playing. It also probably means he will be in and out of Coach Nick Nurse’s rotation to manage his fatigue. As a result, Jaylen Brown will be the main forward and the 76ers’ offensive focal point.
Keeping James healthy will be one of the main keys to the 76ers’ title contention hopes. Sure, he brings a great deal of intangibles, but it’s different to see him orchestrate an offense or wreck opponents with advanced defensive schemes.
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