The Lakers officially updated James injury! It is difficult to qualify for awards this season: the historical record may be ended

On November 7, Lakers fans all wanted to know when James would make his first show of the season. During the preseason, James has been troubled by sciatica. He was placed on the truce list at the beginning of the 2025-26 season and has missed the team's first 9 games.

The good news for the Lakers is that although Doncic and Reeves have also suffered from injuries to a certain extent, the team still achieved a record of 7 wins and 2 losses, ranking just behind the Thunder in the Western Conference. But the bad news is that James' sciatica has not healed yet, and the latest injury update shows that he will miss more games.

The Lakers officially announced today that James, who originally aimed to return in mid-November, has been officially allowed to participate in confrontational basketball training and will be re-evaluated in the next one to two weeks. The Lakers will begin their fifth consecutive road trip on Sunday, and James will stay in Los Angeles to begin five-on-five training, which may include an intra-squad match against the South Bay Lakers of the G League.

The absence of five consecutive away games means that James may return as early as November 19 in the home game against the Jazz. This will be the team's 15th game this season.

Why is this situation important? James has missed 9 games so far. If he misses all five consecutive away games, he will miss 14 games this season.

To receive end-of-season awards and honors, players need to play at least 65 games in the regular season and meet specific playing time requirements. If he can return against the Jazz on November 19, he will only be able to miss up to three more games in the remaining schedule of the 2025-26 season in order to remain eligible for selection to the All-NBA Team.

Since the 2004-05 season (the second season of his career), James has been selected to the best team (first team, second team or third team) every year. His record of being selected to the All-NBA Team for 21 consecutive years is one of the most difficult to break in NBA history. Now this record is facing severe challenges. It seems difficult for the Lakers star to continue this achievement this season.

There are only 12 players in NBA history whose career spans 20 years or more. In terms of the number of times he has been selected to the All-NBA Team, the one closest to James is Hall of Fame star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was selected 15 times in his career.

Among the active players, Curry, Durant and Paul are closest to James in the number of times they have been selected to the All-NBA Team, with each of them being selected 11 times.

If James' streak of consecutive selections ends (it is very likely at present), this will once again remind people that the career of the NBA's historical scoring leader is nearing the end. James will turn 41 in December. At this stage of his career, his biggest concern is to win his fifth championship trophy.

The Lakers are currently at the forefront of the record list. After returning from injury, he is expected to hit this ultimate goal in the 2025-26 season.