Los Angeles Lakers record LeBron James extended his record by being elected to a 21st NBA All-Star Game, being named a starter in the Western Conference amid another exception season at age 40.
James was the first overall selection by Shaquille O’Neal in the All-Star draft, but it appears he will not be taking the court.
“You won’t see anything from me tonight. Unfortunately, I will not be in uniform tonight,” James said when speaking to the media on Sunday afternoon. “Still dealing with ankle and foot discomfort so I will not be playing tonight, unfortunately. I hate that. But I’m looking forward to seeing the format, this is the first year for it and I know we got a lot of great players, they call us the OGs, that’s hilarious. We do got a lot of guys with grey hairs so that makes sense. But that should be fun. I saw a quote the other day how [Dalton Knecht] was excited to play against me, but I guess I’ll see him at practice and hopefully we can go at it then.”
As James alluded to, Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht was looking forward to squaring off with James after he earned his spot in the game by winning the Rising Stars Challenge.
LeBron James focused on rest of Lakers’ season
James has been dealing with foot and ankle discomfort for a while now, so he is being cautious and focusing on the rest of the Lakers’ season.
“I was hoping it would feel a lot better this morning. But it’s not where I want it to be,” James said. “With 30 games left and we’re trying to make a playoff push in the wild, wild West, I felt like it was very important for me to take care of myself and understand what’s coming on. I don’t want to say it’s maintenance, it is maintenance, but at the same time, I have to look out for myself when it comes to this injury that I’ve been dealing with for years. I hope to be available Wednesday. We have to have a makeup game, so I am headed back to L.A. tonight.
“There will be no vacation for me, I’ll head back to L.A. tonight and back to rehab tomorrow and getting ready for practice on Tuesday and hopefully I can play against Charlotte on Wednesday and hopefully Portland on Thursday. It’s a big stretch for us.”
The Lakers currently sit at 32-20 and have been playing some of their best basketball, so it makes sense for LeBron to prioritize getting healthy instead of playing in the All-Star Game.
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