Some fans were almost sure LeBron James was announcing his retirement  as his “Second Decision.” Especially after he said, “I’m not waiting on Bryce,” James told reporters. “… He has his own timeline, I got my timeline, and I don’t know if they quite match up.” Immediately, you had almost every sportsbook offering odds on whether the Lakers star would retire. Then you had fans rushing in to buy a seat at the Lakers’ final regular-season game.

As a result, the prices soared, reaching as high as $900 per ticket according to but once the anticlimax came, the prices fell hard. LeBron’s announcement turned out to be an announcement about his affiliation with “Hennessy”. “This collaboration allows us to share that sense of dedication and discovery to create something fresh and exciting for everyone to enjoy,” James said in Hennessy’s release. While that is well and good, meanwhile, the prices have dropped more than half as of 4:21 pm ET on October 7, to $386. As the losers of this deal, who will likely be die-hard Lebron James fans, sulk on oversubscribing to the last game of the season, there is another bad news regarding the superstar and his return from injury.

“I’m told LeBron James has started to ramp up here. He’s doing a little bit on the court, but I’m told the expectation is still that he’s likely going to be out for the preseason. The goal being to be ready for opening night on October 21 against the Golden State Warriors. So he’s doing more and more on the court, starting to do more basketball activities. But we’ll see if he’s able to get a game in before the regular season.” NBA insider Shams Charania said on NBA Today.

The league’s oldest player has been suffering from nerve irritation in his glute for a few days and missed the early training camp practice in the process. The Lakers are “playing the long game with LeBron,” according to coach JJ Redick. At the same time, they want James to play atleast one preseason game before the season kicks off, but it doesn’t seem to be possible. 

And the priority will likely go to preserving his fitness for the season. At almost 41 years old and after 22 seasons in the NBA, LeBron doesn’t need much time to connect with his new and old teammates and ramp up his engine, so that shouldn’t be an issue. Even at this age, he averaged 24.4 points, 8.2 assists, and 7.8 rebounds while staying largely healthy and playing in 70 games. 

But don’t mistake his 2024-25 as completely injury-free. LeBron’s foot and ankle soreness already benched him from the All-Star weekend. Then came the knockout blow: a Game 5 MCL sprain that would’ve sidelined him for weeks if the Lakers’ season hadn’t ended right there. So his fitness still has a huge question mark for the Lakers. Their second star in Luka Doncic, has also missed the first two preseason games to rest after a hectic EuroBasket last month. However, as both superstars recover, Doncic is not letting things get boring in the Lakers camp. 

Luka Doncic Follows LeBron James’ Footsteps, In His Own Way

Since LeBron landed in L.A., the Lakers have almost made a habit of a players-only minicamp the week before preseason, Vegas in the title year, San Diego in 2023, with only a couple of breaks in the streak. But that tradition has had a gap in 2024-25 and this year. With injuries keeping both stars out, Luka Doncic has apparently taken it upon himself to organize some teambuilding activities.

“As I shared on NBA Today, Luka Doncic organized a team bonding event after practice today at the Porsche Driving Experience, sources told ESPN. Each Lakers player will get their choice of three different cars to test out on the tracks,” wrote ESPN reporter Dave McMenamin. 

Well, LeBron James has a car collection of himself, featuring a Porsche 918 Spyder and a Porsche 911 Turbo S Cabriolet, so James will probably test out some of the other models. Anthony Davis is a big car guy, too, owning a range of Porsches, Mercedes, Bentleys, and a customized Ferrari as well. 

So, these two would probably enjoy this activity the most. And Luka is returning a favor. When Luka inked the three-year extension in August, his teammates whisked him to Vegas for a surprise Backstreet Boys night to celebrate. So, even if the Lakers’ superstars are not enjoying preseason on the court, off the court is a different story.