The Los Angeles Lakers are used to having starters in the NBA All-Star Game and that will be the case once again with Luka Doncic leading all vote-getters.
He is having an exceptional season and recently has been joined by LeBron James, who is starting to look more and more like himself with each passing game, an encouraging development the Lakers.
L.A. has largely looked like a mediocre team the past few weeks, with part of their poor play attributed to injuries to key players like Austin Reaves. While Los Angeles hasn’t had its full rotation for the entire season yet, James’ resurgence is coming at a good time as the team will find itself on the road the next couple of weeks.
The Lakers kicked off their eight-game road trip against the Denver Nuggets, a formidable opponent even though they have been without Nikola Jokic. Los Angeles found themselves trailing by as many as 16 points before completing a second-half comeback to claim a 115-107 victory.
Doncic led the way for the purple and gold with a massive triple-double and after the win, James made sure to shoutout the newly-minted All-Star Game starter, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“First of all, shoutout to Luka. All-Star leading vote-getter. It was dope seeing that patch on his jersey tonight, that was pretty cool, and he showed why he is who he is. When he has so many eyes on him, when I catch the ball and I got a numbers game, 4-on-3, I feel like I can make the right pass for my teammates.”
Doncic responded to his All-Star nomination with 38 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists against the Nuggets. He was the lone reason Los Angeles was able to hang around in the first half because he was able to keep pace with Denver’s hot shooting.
Doncic and James’ chemistry has gotten better in the wake of Reaves’ injury, and the two displayed how devastating they can be offensively. James is lethal when he’s got the defense scrambling and with Doncic demanding so much attention he can pick his spots more efficiently.
Los Angeles is wise to lean into Doncic and James’ budding two-man game as opposing teams likely won’t have the defensive personnel to slow them down. With a rematch against the L.A. Clippers on tap, it’ll be fun to see how Doncic and James tackle the challenge.
LeBron James’ All-Star Game starting streak ends
James is a staple in the All-Star Game, but his injury to begin the 2025-26 season cost him previous votes. LeBron was left off the list of starters for the 2026 NBA All-Star Game. As such, his streak as a starter finally comes to an end at 21 years, though he could still make the team as a reserve.
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