LeBron James was not among the players named when the NBA released the names of this year’s All-Star starters. The 41-year-old star has since spoken up about being left out of the list.
LeBron James Talks About His Mentality Regarding All-Star Snub
This season has been a streak-ender for the 41-year-old James. His consecutive games with 10 or more points ended at 1,297 earlier this season when he fell just a field goal shy back in December. Now, his streak of being an All-Star starter has lasted for more than two decades and has also met its end.
However, the Los Angeles Lakers star doesn’t seem bothered by the snub. In fact, he doesn’t seem to mind not being included at all. When asked about his reaction to being excluded from the starters, his only response was: “No, none at all.” Afterward, he was asked if he wanted to be an All-Star again this year.
“If I’m there, I’ll be in attendance,” James said. “If I’m not, I know I’ll be able to take full advantage of it. I know exactly what I’ll be doing, so I’m good either way.”
Lebron on the all star game:
“If I’m there, I’ll be there in attendance, if I’m not, I know I’ll be able to take full advantage of it. I know exactly what I’ll be doing, so I’m good either way” pic.twitter.com/yM4GIBmDfr
— Oh No He Didn’t (@ohnohedidnt24) January 21, 2026
In the West, the starters are Stephen Curry, Luka Dončić, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Victor Wembanyama, and Nikola Jokic. Of course, they won’t be the only All-Stars, so James isn’t entirely out of the event yet.
After a slow start, James is back to contributing at a high level. He missed the first 14 games of the year, and when he came back, he seemed rusty. In his first six games, he only scored over 20 points once and averaged just 14.0 points and 4.3 rebounds.
In the 19 games that followed, he averaged 25.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 6.7 assists. Overall, he’s putting up 22.5 points, 6.0 boards, and 7.0 dimes. With these numbers, it’s safe to assume that he’s still in the running to be named a reserve.
With this being James’ 23rd season in the league, though, missing out on the All-Star game might be a positive. He could use some rest before the tough late-season stretch, and an entire weekend without playing is an opportunity for this.
Either way, not being selected to the All-Star team this year isn’t legacy-altering for him at this point. After all, being an All-Star starter every year from his sophomore season all the way to year 22 is just one of the accolades on an extensive list of accomplishments.
Being a starter for 22 seasons is awesome. Hopefully he make the reserves, but could rest too. He gets too much HATE for all he put into the game of basketball. People are Funny!! 🥴