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LeBron James on Oct. 24, 2023.
LeBron James will not be a starter at the NBA All-Star Game for the first time in 21 years
James, who first played in 2005 and started every year since, missed the first 14 games of the Lakers 2025-26 season while he was dealing with sciatica
His Lakers teammate Luka Dončić will play in the 2026 All-Star Game alongside Stephen Curry, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and others on Feb. 15
For the first time in 21 years, LeBron James will not be a starter at the NBA All-Star Game.
The 41-year-old James, who has been selected as a starter every season since 2005, was absent from the NBA's final list of 2026 All-Star starters from the Western Conference, released on Monday, Jan. 19.
Most analysts did not expect James to make the starting lineup after he missed the first 14 games of the Lakers season with sciatica, and the competition is steep out west.
According to the voting results — which are split between a 50% fan vote, 25% voting from selected media and 25% player voting — James ranked eighth in the player and fan votes and ninth among the media.
His Lakers teammate Luka Dončić made the cut, along with Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry, Oklahoma City Thunder fan-favorite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets and 7-foot-4 Frenchman Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs.
Steph Curry and Lebron JamesSteph Curry and Lebron James
LeBron James and Stephen Curry in the 2021 NBA All-Star Game.
Despite not starting, James — whose teammate and son Bronny James reportedly received two votes from NBA players to start in the 2026 All-Star Game — still has the chance to play in this year's game as an All-Star reserve.
The list of reserves will be announced on Feb. 1, according to NBC.
LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers waves to fans after the game against the Phoenix Suns at Acrisure Arena on October 06, 2024
LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers waves to fans after the game against the Phoenix Suns at Acrisure Arena on October 06, 2024
For the Eastern Conference, fans, players and media voted for the Milwaukee Bucks' franchise star Giannis Antetokounmpo, New York Knicks frontman Jalen Brunson, Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76er Tyrese Maxey and Cade Cunningham from the Detroit Pistons.
The 2026 NBA All-Star Game tips off at Intuit Dome, home of the Los Angeles Clippers, on Sunday, Feb. 15.
James is in his 23rd season in the NBA. To mark the record number of seasons, Topps announced on Jan. 12 that the Lakers star (and NBA's all-time leading scorer as of February 2023) will wear a handful of special-edition 23rd season jersey patches that will be removed from his jersey after each game. Topps said a number of the patches will be placed into ultra-rare trading cards.
"Need some of these for my own collection @Topps!!! So dope," James wrote in a post on X reacting to the news.