Initially, the Los Angeles Lakers and LeBron James began their first practice this season in a joking manner.

Lakers coach JJ Redick mused that “we have a new player” after practicing last week with the Lakers’ G League team. After staying sidelined in the team’s first 14 games while managing a sciatica injury, James introduced himself to Luka Dončić, Austin Reaves, and other teammates. James then compared the experience to “a kid going to a new school again.” Then, as he completed his first practice filled with full contact and scrimmaging drills on Monday at the Lakers’ practice facility, the 40-year-old James conceded feeling both young and old at the same.

“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.”

Hence, James conceded uncertainty on whether he will play when the Lakers (10-4) play the Utah Jazz (5-8) on Tuesday at Crypto.com Arena.

“We’ve been taking literally one minute, one hour, one step at a time throughout this whole process,” James said. “So see how I feel this afternoon, see how I feel tonight. When I wake up in the morning, we’ll probably have shootaround. So, just gotta see how the body responds over the next 24 hours-plus.”

Redick said that James, his personal trainer (Mike Mancias), and the Lakers’ training staff will determine James’ availability at some point before Tuesday’s game. Redick added that other factors could determine James’ return.  Redick said that James is “going to have to build the wind up to go play a basketball game.” With the Lakers playing on Sunday in Utah, they could either prioritize James practicing for additional days before returning or use the rest of this week devoted toward recovery following his regular-season debut. With James averaging 34.9 minutes per game last season, the Lakers will have to determine what a possible minutes restriction will look like.

The Lakers have to evaluate more than just James. Redick said the Lakers aren’t sure of Gabe Vincent’s status for Tuesday’s game after missing the past 11 games with a sprained left ankle. Redick said the Lakers expect Rui Hachimura (left calf soreness) and Marcus Smart (viral illness) to play against the Jazz after missing Saturday’s win in Milwaukee.

Amid all of those variables, a central question looms. Do the Lakers view James as a plug-and-play player, given he’s, as Reaves put it, “the greatest player to ever touch the basketball?” Or, given James’ stage of his career, both in age (40) and length of absence (a month), will the Lakers and James need time to integrate fully?

“When you add somebody who, when healthy, is going to play 35-ish minutes, that has an effect on the rotation,” Redick said. “That has an effect on a guy’s rhythm. That’s just a natural thing that I think happens for any basketball team. There’s some continuity from last year with AR and him and Luka that I think we can build on. But truthfully, you can’t anticipate whether it’s going to be seamless or whether it’s going to be choppy. It’s just basketball. There’s a little formula of things you got to add and if you put too much cinnamon in there, your cookie’s not that good. So you got to tinker with it, and we will.”

Questions have also emerged on whether James will embrace and accept a role that could include reduced scoring and playmaking duties both to accommodate Dončić and to manage his body. James embraced his facilitating and defensive role last season after the Lakers acquired Dončić from the Dallas Mavericks before the trade deadline. But during James’ absence, the Lakers thrived with Dončić’s scoring dominance, Reaves’ improved scoring and playmaking as well as Deandre Ayton’s inside presence.

Nonetheless, Redick described James as “adaptable” and argued his longevity partly stems from having a multi-skilled resume. James said

“It don’t matter. I’m a ball player,” James said. “The best thing about me and the way I’ve built my game over my whole life and the coaches since I was in Little League, I’ve never had a position.  Spo [Heat coach Erik Spoelstra] always used used to say, ‘Positionless basketball. Be positionless.’ There’s not one team, not one club in the world that I cannot fit in and play for. I can do everything on the floor. So whatever this team needs me to do and more, I can do it when I’m back to myself.”

How long it will take for James to be back to himself? That’s another unresolved question.

James said that he didn’t begin off-season training until mid-June after recovering from an MCL sprain during the Lakers’ first-round playoff loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Some around the league and outside medical doctors have wondered if his off-season golfing contributed to the sciatica injury. But James reported that injury happened during an offseason workout shortly before training camp, an ailment he said he also suffered during the 2023 offseason. He shook his head dismissively when a reporter asked if he feels pain free.

“I wouldn’t take it that far,” James said. “If you ever had it, you go about it and 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. 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.”

That contrasted starkly to how James said he felt when he missed all of training camp and the Lakers’ season opener.

“It definitely sucks. Never in my life since I started playing the game of basketball have I ever not started the season in my life,” James said. “So it’s been a mind test. But I’m built for it and it’s been putting in the work, both mentally and physically, trying to get myself ready to rejoin the team.”

No wonder James acted like an excited rookie when he rejoined the Lakers for Monday’s practice.

“He has the ability to lift the room,” Reaves said. “Every time he walks in the room, he’s smiling, joking, acts like he’s a 16-year-old kid every day. Which is awesome. It’s very impressive because he’s been doing this for so long, it could get repetitive. But he knows how to make every day what it is.”

That included having perspective on what he did and didn’t miss during his months-long absence.

“I missed these guys, just seeing them go out there and working,” James said. “I love the work. I love the process of working. I don’t miss the travel. I’m about to be 41 years old. I was happy to be at home on my couch after working out and things of that nature. I don’t miss the travel but I definitely miss the competition and miss these guys.”

For better or for worse, James will soon find out what the competition will be like in his 23 NBA season.

Mark Medina is an NBA insider for EssentiallySports. Follow him on X, Blue Sky, Instagram, Facebook and Threads.