It’s T-1, if ESPN’s latest whisper is to be trusted, on LeBron James’ long-awaited return to the hardwood, reportedly set for Nov. 18 when the Lakers face the Utah Jazz. His sciatica flare-up has been the ultimate buzzkill this season, yanking the brakes on what was supposed to be a historic 23rd lap around the league. But hey, the injury did accidentally hand Bron a strange little milestone: the man had never missed a season opener before, and he had definitely never imagined stepping onto a G League court before stepping back under the NBA lights. And yet there he was, warming up in the minors.

South Bay Lakers head coach Zach Guthrie still sounded a little stunned describing the moment. As he put it, “To have the greatest player of all time join your practice like first and foremost one, an opportunity for each and every one of us to be a part of it. Right to just be a small part of his journey, his 23rd season getting him back to health and getting him back to playing where he should be playing with the Lakers is an unbelievable experience and something like unbelievable for me as I’m typing up my practice plan to try in LeBron James is pretty crazy right and you know for all of our guys what an unbelievable experience.”

LeBron James has officially become the most overqualified G-League practice player of all time… The Lakers star popped into two days of South Bay Lakers workouts in El Segundo, kicking things off on Wednesday, his first real on-court action of the season.

Lakers coach JJ Redick had confirmed the cameo, saying James “got up and down a little bit with just some, like, warm-up transition drills and progressed to 5-on-5 in the halfcourt, and got, I think about 12-to-15 possessions of live 5-on-5 contact.”

And it wasn’t some light jog-through. According to ESPN, someone in the gym said the Wednesday run was “intense.” But the best part? LeBron woke up on Thursday feeling completely fine: no soreness, no setbacks, nothing. So, back he went for Day 2.

Meanwhile, in the NBA world, Austin Reaves had basically called this plot twist in advance. “How about Bronny James starting in the NBA and LeBron’s assigned to the G League?” Reaves joked. “That’s fun. That’s awesome.” And sure enough, that’s exactly how the script played out…

While King James was out there grinding through G-League reps, Bronny was suiting up as an NBA starter, for just the second time in his young career, sharing the floor with Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves.

But let’s be real: the Purple and Gold need LeBron back ASAP. They’re sitting at 10-4 and holding the 4th seed in the West, and the soon-to-be 41-year-old’s return can’t come soon enough. And these G-League sessions are the clearest sign yet that he’s right on track.

Coach Guthrie couldn’t stop raving about what it meant for his guys to see LeBron operate up close. He said, “And I thought the biggest thing too was I talked to them about the two days of practice. I was like. Look at this dude’s practice habits. Look at how he’s the first one in, how he approaches it, how his mind is completely locked in, completely dialed. And completely focused his prep beforehand and after, like how he takes care of his body is incredible, so there’s a lot to learn and a lot for our guys to take from that, in addition to the wonderful experience that they have.”

And he’s right; the man was up running workouts at 4 a.m. this offseason. If anyone in that gym wasn’t taking notes, that’s honestly on them.

Lakers quietly brace for LeBron James’ long-awaited return

LeBron James is finally heading back up the hallway, literally. After a stint with the Lakers’ G League unit, the 40-year-old superstar has been reassigned to the actual Lakers and is set to fully participate in Monday’s practice.

That alone feels like breaking news, considering King James hasn’t touched a regular training camp drill or suited up for the first month of the season thanks to that stubborn sciatica running down his right side.

The funny part is, they barely even play this week. They host the Jazz on Tuesday, then disappear until next Sunday, again, against the Jazz. But that one’s on the road. Convenient? Maybe. Coincidental? Probably. But it does leave everyone staring at Tuesday like it’s circled in red ink.

And if his body cooperates, Tuesday suddenly looks a lot more realistic than the team wants to admit.

For all the chaos, the man was still one of the league’s best last year, nearly a triple-double every night while the Lakers won 50 games. 44, with him on the court. But injuries have been a theme during his L.A. chapter, with more than 150 missed games since arriving. The last two years were relatively calm, with him missing 11 and 12 games, respectively, but this season started with a 14-game shutdown due to sciatica.

Now the Lakers return from a 3-2 road trip, riding two strong defensive wins, waiting for their oldest star to jump back in. Whether he debuts Tuesday or sometime after, the countdown has definitely started, and this time, it finally feels real.