LA Lakers star LeBron James named to 22nd NBA All-Star Game

NEW YORK — LeBron James may not have given it much thought, but there were questions around the league on whether his All-Star streak would continue.

And just before the Lakers’ road loss to the Knicks at Madison Square Garden, James and the rest of the world learned that the streak will live on.

He was named to his 22nd consecutive NBA All-Star team, extending a record that he already owned before the honor was revealed. 

The 41-year-old James was voted in as a reserve by the league’s head coaches, with the coaches not allowed to vote for the players on their roster. 

James is averaging 21.9 points, 6.6 assists, 5.8 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 31 games.

“Super humbling,” James said after Sunday’s loss. “Mad respect to the coaches and them seeing how I’m still playing at this latter stage of my career and to be able to be an All-Star, that means a lot to my family, my people that’s been following my career, my LeBron faithful, that’s been following my journey. 

“It’s always rewarding just from a humble standpoint to be able to be rewarded for what you put your work into,” he added.

James’ All-Star candidacy was in doubt after he missed the first 14 games because of sciatica and his slow start to the season, which included his regular-season, double-digit scoring streak ending at 1,297 games in the Lakers’ Dec. 4 win over the Toronto Raptors, which was his sixth game of the season. 

But it wasn’t a concern for James, who’s averaged 23.8 points, 6.3 assists and 6.1 rebounds since the scoring streak ended. 

“I didn’t really think about it,” he said. “To be honest, it wasn’t a goal of mine to come into the season, miss the first 14 games and say, ‘OK, I need to be an All-Star.’ I just wanted to get back to playing the game at a high level. I knew I was capable of it once I kind of worked the rust off of missing preseason, training camp, my summer workouts — which I’ve never done in my whole career. I didn’t think about the All-Star Game, to be honest.”

James’ All-Star honor created an even greater gap between him and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, whose 19 All-Star honors are the second-most in league history. 

“When you think about a star player, their prime is their All-NBA, All-Star years — and he’s basically had a 20-plus-year prime,” Lakers Coach JJ Redick said. “It’s unheard of, uncharted, whatever you wanna call it. But it’s incredible. It’s a testament to the work that he puts in.”

James and fellow star Luka Dončić will represent the Lakers during the All-Star Game on Feb. 15 at Intuit Dome.

“He deserved it,” Dončić said of James’ All-Star honor. “He’s playing at the top level still at that age, which is incredible to share the floor with. Congratulations to him, he obviously deserved it.”

The All-Star Game will look differently than previous years, with the league embracing a US vs World format that includes breaking the players into three eight-man rosters. The teams will compete in a round-robin tournament featuring four 12-minute games.

Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters