LeBron James ends historic 21-year streak after missing too many games this season

LeBron James’ latest absence for the Los Angeles Lakers ended a 21-year streak that might not be rivaled in NBA history.

James has officially hit 18 missed games this season, as he sits out Tuesday against the San Antonio Spurs. As a result, James won’t be able to hit the 65-game minimum needed to be considered for league awards, as per the collective bargaining agreement.

So, for the first time since 2004, James won’t be on the All-NBA teams.

What didn’t help James’ case was missing the first 14 games of the 2025-26 season due to sciatica. Given James is 41 years old, there was always going to be load management absences, especially on back-to-backs.

That is the case in this Tuesday night matchup, as the Lakers are on the second night of a back-to-back after losing to the league-best Oklahoma City Thunder, 119-110, on Monday night in Los Angeles.

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James’ injury designation is currently left foot arthritis, and head coach JJ Redick is also dealing with Luka Dončić, Austin Reaves and Marcus Smart all ruled out, forcing him to get creative with his lineup in this game.

But in the grand scheme of NBA history, James’ streak of 21 years making an All-NBA team straight is the definition of unprecedented. He also the all-time leader in first-team All-NBA selections with 13 — two ahead of Karl Malone and the late Kobe Bryant.

Bryant was a part of the first-team All-NBA squad that James missed during his rookie season in 2003-04. Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, Shaquille O’Neal and Jason Kidd filled out the rest of that group.

But after his first NBA season, where he was named Rookie of the Year after averaging 20.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and 1.6 steals over 79 games with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

From there, James made second-team All-NBA the next season and didn’t stop landing on one of the three teams until this season.

It’s Year 23 for James, who is still averaging 21.8 points, 5.7 rebounds and 6.9 assists per game across 35 contests for the Lakers, who are 32-20 this season, good for fifth in the Western Conference.

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