Incredible 21-Year LeBron James Streak Will Officially End With Tuesday’s Lakers-Spurs Game

LeBron James’s NBA career has been both very long and very fruitful, which means he can lay claim to many records scattered across the history books. He’s the all-time leader in points, minutes played, games played and turnovers. Nobody has made more field goals than James; nobody has missed more, either. There’s an entire Wikipedia page dedicated solely to his list of career accomplishments.

On Tuesday, however, one of his most impressive records is coming to an end.

With the Lakers slated to take on the Spurs tonight, Los Angeles ruled James out with left foot arthritis. It’s not terribly surprising given he is 41 years old and the Lakers are on the second night of a back-to-back. However, his absence guarantees James will finish the season with fewer than 65 games played— eliminating him from All-NBA consideration and ending his 21-year-old streak of making an All-NBA team.

The Lakers’ star missed the first 14 games of the year with sciatica. Since returning on November 18, James has suited up regularly but missed the odd game here and there with the minor injuries that come with playing in the NBA for over two decades. The CBA dictates a player can only miss 17 games before they are eliminated from award contention, though, and Tuesday marked James’s 18th of the year. Thus he will not be able to earn All-NBA recognition nor any other award that reflects his regular-season performance.

James was named to his first All-NBA team in 2005 following his sophomore season with the Cavaliers. Every year since he’s earned All-NBA recognition to some degree; he was first-team All-NBA for a 10-year stretch from 2008 to ‘18. Even as James’s play declined into his mid-30s and early 40s he was still worthy of the All-NBA nod. This year he might have been hard-pressed to make it, admittedly. Entering Tuesday James is averaging 21.8 points per game (his fewest since his rookie season) to go with 6.9 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game. Those are still tremendous all-around numbers for any forward in the NBA but James would have faced stiff competition for a third-team slot if he qualified.

Regardless, this year’s end-of-season awards will look a lot different without James in the fold. All we know for sure is there will be plenty of competition for his spot.

Why LeBron James cannot make an All-NBA team this year

The current NBA collective bargaining agreement, which was ratified in April of 2023, instituted a minimum number of games that must be played for a player to be eligible for end-of-season awards. From the outside it appeared a rule change introduced to combat load management, as well as reward players for their consistent availability. It has proven punishing; any player who needs to miss more than a few games with a minor injury is at serious risk of missing the cut-off for games played.

In James’s case, the sciatica issue he battled during training camp wound up sealing his fate. The Lakers brought him back slowly at the start of the year, resulting in 14 games missed; he could only miss three contests from November on to qualify for end-of-season awards. An unfortunate twist for the future Hall of Famer.

Other star players at risk of being eliminated from the awards race include Victor Wembanyama (14 games missed), Nikola Jokić (16 games missed) and Luka Dončić (will miss his 11th game on Tuesday night).

Why LeBron James cannot make an All-NBA team this year

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