While Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James has yet to announce it officially, all expectations are that he will be returning for a 23rd season in the NBA and eighth in the purple and gold.
Before making it official though, James has been focused on getting his body back to 100% health. Despite turning 40 last December, LeBron had another All-NBA season in which he played 70 games for the Lakers in 2024-25. Unfortunately, on the night L.A. was eliminated from the playoffs, James suffered a significant knee injury that wound up being diagnosed as a sprained MCL.
An injury of that magnitude typically requires at least a couple months of rehab and recovery, and it appears that LeBron is right on schedule. He took to Instagram on Monday to post a video of his first on-court workout just eight weeks after suffering the injury:
Bron is back in the lab for Year 23 after MCL injury 👑🔥
(via @Cbrickley603) pic.twitter.com/cn5beKDMmC
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 23, 2025
James has plenty of time to get back to 100% health as he set a goal of being ready for the start of training camp in October.
The only deadline looming for the four-time NBA Champion is his player option that needs to be picked up on declined by June 29. He can pick up the player option and be under contract for $52.6 million next season, or decline it and sign a new contract that would likely include another second-year player option. All of that will sort itself soon, but regardless, it’s good to see LeBron’s knee healing as scheduled.
LeBron James discusses importance of offseason training
Once LeBron James is back to full health than he can really work on his game to prepare for his 23rd season, and he recently discussed the importance of the offseason in that regard.
“When you’re during the season, obviously you’re around your guys. You guys are building towards one common goal and that’s to ultimately hoist the Lombardi Trophy or the Larry O’Brien Trophy, that is the goal,” James said. “But the offseason is where you get the opportunity to actually do more like looking at yourself in the mirror and seeing ways that you can be better. Your teammates ain’t with you that much in the offseason. You will get with them at some points throughout the offseason and you guys are running routes or working on timing or you guys are in the gym working on things.
“But most of the time is obviously spent with family, but also for yourself. You have to design yourself to how am I going to be great and put yourself in the most simulated moments possible to when those moments come during the season, postseason, big games, three in four nights… That type of shit, you have to be able to prepare yourself in the offseason for those moments.”
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