LeBron James’ Historic Streak Ends As NBA Announces All-Star Starters

After two rounds of voting, the NBA has officially announced the starters for the 2026 All-Star Game, which consists of the fan vote (50%), player vote (25%), and media vote (25%). 

While the voting and All-Stars as a whole are selected from both the Eastern and Western Conferences, for the game itself, the players will be divided into three teams, two USA teams and one World team, going off last season’s format which features a tournament style that the NBA introduced to spice up what has previously been seen as a lackluster event, and weekend as a whole. 

But now, after weeks of voting and less than a month away from the All-Star break itself, the league has announced the starters, as it was done by the NBA on NBC’s team of Maria Taylor and former stars Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter, and Carmelo Anthony.

NBA All-Star Starters Announced

Without further ado, here are the All-Star starters from both conferences as voted by the fans, players, and media:

Eastern Conference All-Star Starters: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jalen Brunson, Cade Cunningham, Tyrese Maxey, and Jaylen Brown

Western Conference All-Star Starters: Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, Shai-Gilgeous Alexander, Stephen Curry, and Victor Wembanyama

Starting in the East, there aren’t any major surprises. Perhaps Antetokounmpo being named a starter could have caught some people off guard, as he missed a few weeks with an injury, but his statline of 28.8 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 5.5 assists on 64.7% shooting for the Milwaukee Bucks is impossible to ignore. He remains one of the most consistent players in recent NBA memory and has now earned his 10th All-Star selection.

Brunson, leading the New York Knicks, earned his third All-Star nod as he is currently out with an ankle injury, while new MVP candidate in Brown of the Boston Celtics has now been voted in for the fifth time in his career.

As for Maxey, this is his second All-Star appearance, at the helm of the Philadelphia 76ers, while Cunningham earns his second selection while leading the Detroit Pistons to the best record in the East.

As for the West, as is the case with Antetokounmpo, both Jokic and Wembanyama have missed time this season with injuries, but like the Greek Freak, when on the court, the two are some of the most impactful players in the NBA. It is not yet known if Jokic will be healthy by the time the All-Star break rolls around, and his eighth appearance could be taken by someone else if the Denver Nuggets star is still injured.

It is San Antonio Spurs star Wembanyama’s second time selected as an All-Star, fourth for defending NBA MVP and champion in Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder, sixth for Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers, who led the league in fan voting through the first two returns, and a group-high 12th nod for Curry of the Golden State Warriors as he continues to shine in his 17th season in the league.

LeBron James’ Historic All-Star Streak Ends As Starters Revealed

Now that the starters have been named, fans, who don’t have a say in the rest of the voting, will have to wait for the coaches to make their picks for the All-Star reserves, a group that will be announced sometime later in the week.

One notable player who wasn’t named an All-Star for the first time in a while was LeBron James of the Lakers. James missed the first month of the season with sciatica and has since missed a few games with other injuries and health concerns, and even though many thought he deserved to be a starter, his numbers simply didn’t match up with the others given the honor.

James, a 21-time All-Star, the most ever, has now ending his historic streak for the most All-Star starter selections in a row, and, as he ranked relatively far down the list on the previous fan votes, will have an uphill battle to earn the nod from the coaches picking the All-Star reserves.

A few other notable controversial names left off the starters list were Donovan Mitchell of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Kawhi Leonard of the Los Angeles Clippers, and Kevin Durant of the Houston Rockets.

While each is putting up strong seasons, it’s fair to say that they, along with several other players from both conferences, will rightfully get the nod once the reserves are announced. 

But for now, the starters list, at least for Lakers fans, signals a changing of the guard from James to Doncic, perhaps one that fans of the former never thought would be the case as his illustrious career begins to wind down. 

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