Lakers' LeBron James not voted All-Star Game starter - ESPN

The NBA announced its starters for next month's All-Star Game on Monday — and, for the first time in a generation, Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James wasn't listed among them.

His teammate Luka Doncic led the Western Conference voting and was joined by Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama and Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry. Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo topped the voting in the East and will be joined by New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson, Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey, Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham and Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown.

But the biggest news of the selection process was the omission of James, who has been selected to and named a starter for a record 21 All-Star Games in his career — every one since the 2005 game in Denver. But this year he was never close to getting enough votes to move into the starting five out West. James missed the first 14 games of the season with sciatica and then got off to a sluggish start once he returned to the court, including having his remarkable streak of 1,297 consecutive games with at least 10 points end in Toronto last month. All of which has left his potential inclusion in this year's All-Star Game up to the league's coaches.

Though James was not selected a starter, Curry was, marking the 12th time in his Hall of Fame-bound career that he was named to the All-Star Game as he's averaging 27.6 points per game while closing in on his 38th birthday. The other player to hit double digits in terms of All-Star appearances Monday was Antetokounmpo, who led the way for the East starters and is in the middle of his latest monster