End of an Era: LeBron James’ Historic All-NBA Streak Concludes at 21 Years
The inevitability of time finally caught up with the most enduring career in NBA history on Tuesday night. It did not happen on the court with a missed shot or a turnover, but rather on an injury report released prior to a matchup against the San Antonio Spurs. By being ruled out due to left foot arthritis, LeBron James reached a mathematical point of no return. It was his 18th missed game of the season, officially rendering him ineligible for end-of-season awards under the league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement.
For the first time since the 2003-04 season, an All-NBA team will be selected without LeBron James on the roster. This development officially snaps a 21-year streak that stands as one of the most formidable records in professional sports.
The 65-Game Threshold
The conclusion of this streak is a byproduct of the NBA’s recent efforts to curb load management. The current Collective Bargaining Agreement stipulates that players must appear in at least 65 games to be eligible for major individual honors, including MVP and All-NBA selections. James, now 41 years old and navigating his 23rd NBA season, has battled physical ailments that made reaching this threshold a steep challenge.
James missed the first 14 games of the campaign due to sciatica. That early absence left him with a microscopic margin for error regarding his availability. With the announcement that he would miss the Spurs game on the second night of a back-to-back set, the door slammed shut. While James has been open about the difficulties of playing consecutive nights at this stage of his career, the official designation of left foot arthritis serves as the final period on a sentence that has run for over two decades.
Putting 21 Years in Perspective
To understand the magnitude of a 21-year All-NBA streak, one must look at the names James is leaving behind in the record books. Before James redefined longevity, the gold standard for sustained excellence was held by legends like Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. These three icons are tied for second place in all-time All-NBA selections. They each have 15.
James did not just surpass them. He put together a streak of 21 consecutive selections that eclipsed their career totals. He holds the record for First Team selections with 13, sitting two clear of Bryant and Karl Malone.
The last time the NBA announced an All-NBA team without James, the league looked fundamentally different. It was 2004. Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant were still teammates in Los Angeles. The First Team featured Kevin Garnett and Jason Kidd. It was James’ rookie season, the only other year in his professional life where he did not make the cut, though he did secure Rookie of the Year honors. Since that introductory season, James has been a constant presence among the league’s elite, surviving roster overhauls, changing offensive eras, and the natural attrition that claims every other athlete’s prime.
A Season of Finales
The 2025-26 campaign has proven to be a sobering reality check regarding James’ mortality as a basketball player. The end of the All-NBA streak is the third major historic run to conclude this season.
earlier this year, James scored eight points in a victory over the Toronto Raptors. That single-digit performance ended a 1,297-game streak of scoring at least 10 points, a run that had lasted 19 years. Furthermore, James missed out on being named an All-Star starter this season. That omission ended a 21-year run of being voted into the starting five, a streak unmatched in league history.
These moments are not indictments of his current ability, but rather indicators that the unprecedented longevity he normalized is finally facing natural limits. At 41, the body simply cannot recover or perform with the everyday consistency required to meet the 65-game criteria or the statistical dominance of his youth.
The Legacy Remains
While the streak is over, the context of its conclusion highlights just how high the bar has been set. There were close calls in the past. In the 2018-19 season, James played only 55 games but made the Third Team due to impressive rate statistics. In 2022-23, he narrowly made the cut for the Third Team.
Critics may debate whether name recognition aided those later selections, but the 21-year run remains a testament to availability and conditioning that the sport may never see again. We are unlikely to witness another player perform at an All-NBA level from the age of 19 through age 40.
As the Lakers continue their season, the focus will shift to the playoffs and James’ remaining impact on the floor. However, Tuesday’s injury report marked a quiet, definitive end to an era of statistical dominance that defined the modern NBA.
