The 40-year-old star returned to the Los Angeles Lakers side on Tuesday night (11.18.25), after he missed the team's first 14 games of the season due to sciatica.

But record-breaker James was back on the court to inspire the Lakers to a 140-126 win over the Utah Jazz.

The basketball legend contributed 11 points, 12 assists and three rebounds in 30 minutes, and his teammate Luka Doncic said he "looked amazing" during the game.

Doncic - who scored 37 points in the victory - said: "It's been a long time since he played basketball, so I think for the first game back, he looked amazing.

"He's going to keep getting his rhythm, and help us a lot."

James - whose appearance broke Vince Carter's record, after he appeared in 22 consecutive NBA seasons - returned to Lakers practice earlier this week.

LeBron admitted his lungs are like those of a "newborn baby", and said he "prays" those who have been making jokes about his sciatica "never get it".

He told reporters: "If you ain't never had it, and people are making jokes about it, I pray you never get it.

"It's not fun."

Quizzed on whether he is now pain-free, he said: "I won't take it that far.

"Like I said, if you ever had it, you just go about it, you wake up one day, and you hope that when you step down out of the bed, you don't feel it.

"You go to bed at night, and you hope that when you get into bed, you don't feel it.

"So, I've been doing pretty good with it, as of late.

"It'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 about it."