LeBron James Will Not Start The NBA All-Star Game For The First Time

For the first time in twenty-one years, since 2005, LeBron James won't be starting an NBA All-Star Game. More than two decades of dominance, of being the guy everyone wanted to see. And now, at 41, he will likely be coming off the bench, that is, if he makes the final roster. 

The fan vote has spoken, and it's not really surprising when one takes a moment to look at James’s production this season.  Averaging 22.6 points per game this season is an amazing feat for a player at his age (or for most players, for that matter), but the Lakers are struggling, and the league has moved on to the next generation. Players such as Luka Dončić, Victor Wembanyama, Anthony Edwards, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and a new generation of younger talent have captured the attention of voters who may not have been born when LeBron entered the league.

What might be even more amazing is that he might not play at all unless coaches select him as a reserve. The same LeBron James, who won three All-Star Game MVP awards and scored a record 434 All-Star points, could be watching from the sidelines in Los Angeles. He averaged 22.9 points per game throughout his previous All-Star appearances, consistently putting on a show even when the games didn't really matter.

Being voted as a starter for 21 consecutive All-Star Games (he was voted a starter last year but did not participate due to injury) isn't just impressive; it's likely something that the league will never see again. In a league that has seen legends like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Shaquille O’Neal, Magic Johnson, Julius Erving, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, to name but a few, none of them sustained that level of fan engagement for that long.

While James continues to do his best in the battle with Father Time, the league is ready to move on with the next era of players. It seems to be a given that James will suit up to play at the Intuit Dome, as the league celebrates what could be his final All-Star Game appearance.