LeBron James, the star player for the Los Angeles Lakers, was ruled out for Tuesday’s home game against the San Antonio Spurs, ending his impressive streak of consecutive All-NBA selections. This marks his 18th missed game of the season, which means he will not meet the required 65 games to qualify for NBA awards.
End of LeBron James’ All-NBA Streak
Before this season, James had been named an All-NBA player for 21 straight seasons, a record in the league.
Unfortunately, with his 18th absence this season, that streak cannot continue.
James was sidelined due to foot arthritis, as stated by the team.
The NBA implemented minimum-game requirements to discourage teams and players from excessive load management, encouraging them to compete more often for awards.
J.J. Redick, head coach of the Lakers, suggested that there should be guidance for voters regarding games played, but he believes it shouldn’t be an inflexible rule.
“I think it’s fine to have some sort of guidance for voters,” Redick said. “I know the first year that I voted, there were a bunch of guys that were in that 54- to 56-game range.”
When he has played, James has shown excellent performance, averaging 21.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, 6.8 assists, and 1.1 steals per game.
As of Tuesday, the Lakers were fifth in the Western Conference, one-and-a-half games ahead of the play-in spots, and just one game away from having the third-best record in the conference.