LeBron James was cleared Friday, Oct. 16 at 5:44 PM ET, moving off the day-to-day tag he had carried through the week. He is available for Philadelphia's game against the Celtics that night at 7 PM ET on NBA TV.
What happened
The 76ers' injury report lists LeBron James as cleared as of 5:44 PM ET on Friday, Oct. 16, up from day-to-day. No injury detail or report comment was attached to the update. James had bounced between designations over the previous two weeks: day-to-day on Monday, Oct. 5, cleared on Thursday, Oct. 8, day-to-day again on Saturday, Oct. 10, and day-to-day earlier Friday before Friday's clearance. No expected return date has been announced, since he is no longer listed as out.
What it means for the 76ers
James is set for Philadelphia's game against the Celtics on Friday, Oct. 16 at 7 PM ET on NBA TV, with the 76ers at 0-0 since the 2026-27 season has not started. Last season he averaged 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists in 33.2 minutes across 60 games. During stretches without him, the rotation has leaned on Tyrese Maxey (38.0 minutes, 28.3 points), VJ Edgecombe (35.0 minutes, 16.0 points) and Joel Embiid (31.6 minutes, 26.9 points), with Kelly Oubre Jr., Paul George, Quentin Grimes, Dominick Barlow and Andre Drummond also logging minutes. There is no record split with and without him yet, since no regular-season games have been played.
What to watch
The next injury report will show whether James holds his cleared status through Friday's tip-off against the Celtics. No further absence or return timeline has been announced beyond this clearance. Philadelphia's report also lists Ariel Hukporti out with a right Achilles issue, and Day-To-Day tags for VJ Edgecombe, Dominick Barlow, Anfernee Simons, Adem Bona, Tacko Fall and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, all worth tracking on upcoming reports.
Is LeBron James playing vs Celtics?
Yes. The 76ers' injury report cleared him as of 5:44 PM ET on Friday, Oct. 16, ahead of the 7 PM ET game against the Celtics on NBA TV.
When will LeBron James be back?
He is already back. His status was upgraded from day-to-day to cleared on Friday, Oct. 16, and no further absence has been announced.