LOS ANGELES — Lakers star LeBron James already held the record for most NBA All-Star appearances.
And on Thursday, the league’s career scoring leader added more distance between himself and the rest of the field.
James was named an NBA All-Star for a record-extending 21st consecutive time on Thursday.
James, a four-time league MVP who is in his 22nd NBA season, entered Thursday averaging 23.7 points, nine assists and 7.5 rebounds per game.
James is a three-time NBA All-Star Game MVP (2006, ’08, ’18) and is the game’s all-time leading scorer (434 points).
He will start a record 20th consecutive All-Star Game.
James has averaged 21.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.1 steals in his previous All-Star Game appearances.
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant, Golden State Warriors guard Steph Curry and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander were also selected as starters from the Western Conference.
New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns, Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, Knicks guard Jalen Brunson and Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell were selected as starters from the Eastern Conference.
The starters were picked through a system of weighted balloting: 50% was fan voting, 25% was a media panel and 25% was voting by current players. Antetokounmpo led all players in fan voting for a second straight season.
There are 14 more All-Stars yet to be announced, and they’ll be chosen in a vote of the league’s head coaches. That list will be revealed next Thursday (Jan. 30), with Lakers big man Anthony Davis a strong candidate to be added.
The NBA is debuting a new format for the 2025 NBA All-Star Game, which will take place on Feb. 16 at Chase Center in San Francisco.
The All-Star Game will feature a mini-tournament with four teams and three games. Two teams will meet in one semifinal (Game 1), and the remaining two teams will meet in the other semifinal (Game 2). The winning teams from Game 1 and Game 2 will advance to face each other in the championship (Game 3). Every game is being played to 40 points.
Each team will have eight players, with the 24 All-Stars being divided evenly into three teams. The rosters will be drafted by TNT’s “Inside the NBA” commentators and honorary team general managers Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith on Feb. 6. The fourth team will be the winning team from the championship game of the Rising Stars, the annual showcase of the top first- and second-year NBA players and NBA G League standouts, that will be played on Feb. 14. TNT analyst and WNBA legend Candace Parker will be the honorary GM of the Rising Stars team.
Presuming he plays, James is in line to become the third player to appear in the All-Star Game after turning 40, joining Lakers great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who did so at 40 and 41, and longtime Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki, whose All-Star finale came when he was 40.
James has two more All-Star selections than anyone else in NBA history (Abdul-Jabbar was a 19-time pick) and is three years clear of anyone else for the longest streak of consecutive selections. Lakers great Kobe Bryant was picked for 18 consecutive All-Star Games, the second-longest such streak.
More to come on this story.