LeBron James, man. What is the NBA going to do when this dude actually retires?
He’s at the point in his career where almost literally every time he steps on a court he’s setting some sort of record.
He gave us another one by being selected as an All-Star for the 19th consecutive time in his NBA career, which is completely unfathomable. It literally sounds impossible, but here James is doing it. Again.
He passed Kobe Bryant and tied Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most All-Star selections in NBA history. Not only that, but James is also tied with Kareem for All-Star games played in with 18 total. Everything this dude does is just unreal.
LeBron James has earned his 19th NBA All-Star selection, tying Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most in league history. James and Abdul-Jabbar currently share the record for most NBA All-Star Games played with 18.
Players with the most NBA All-Star selections ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/j315AJBNDV
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) January 27, 2023
All these stats got me thinking. When was the last time we didn’t see LeBron James in an All-Star game? I did the research to find out and, well, it’s been a long time.
The last All-Star game LeBron wasn’t in was the 2004 All-Star game in Los Angeles.
Of course, LeBron was in LA that weekend. But that’s because he was playing in the Rookie-Sophomore game taking place — not the big game.
Want to know what that game was like? Well don’t you worry — I’ve got you covered. Let’s dive into the details on the last All-Star game LeBron didn’t play in.
How close did LeBron get to becoming an All-Star that year?
James missed out on being voted in as a starter, but he did come in 4th in voting for Eastern Conference guards behind Jason Kidd.
James hadn’t quite earned his keep yet in the NBA, so he wasn’t selected as a reserve either. It was probably a little too soon — he hadn’t quite earned All-Star status just yet.
Who were the game's starters?
Are you ready to feel old? Prepare yourself. Keep in mind that the starters were chosen from two guards, two forwards and a single center. The league hadn’t quite gotten to the frontcourt-backcourt era of voting just yet.
Here are the East’s starters for the game:
- Allen Iverson
- Tracy McGrady
- Vince Carter
- Jermain O’Neal
- Ben Wallace
And the West’s starters:
- Steve Francis (!!!)
- Kobe Bryant
- Kevin Garnett
- Tim Duncan
- Yao Ming (!!!!!!)
If you were around and watching basketball in 2004, every single name there should be familiar to you. And, yes, you are ancient.
Were there other notable players in the game?
There were a lot of first — and only — time All-Stars in this game. It’s pretty incredible looking back on it.
The game featured Jamaal Magloire, Kenyon Martin, Michael Redd, Metta World Peace, Andre Kirilenko, Sam Cassell in it. Every single one of them had their only career All-Star appearance in this game. Guess it was a good thing LeBron didn’t take up one of those spots, huh? Obviously, he didn’t need it.
Fun fact: The 2000 NBA Draft only produced two All-Stars. And they both played in this game.
the 2000 NBA draft produced (2) all star seasons.
– Michael Redd in 2004
– Jamaal Magloire in 2004— Tim (@ChuckShots) February 20, 2020
Brad Miller was in this game, too, but he was somehow a two-time All-Star. No idea how that happened, y’all. But shoutout to him anyway.
What was the game like?
The game was in LA, so the crowd was full of stars. Just about everyone in the game wanted to show off and show out.
Player intros were done to Outkast’s “Heya.” All of a sudden, I feel like I need a cane.
Shaquille O’Neal was pulling out his dribble moves in the open court. Allen Iverson was throwing lobs off the glass to Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady. T Mac threw himself a lob in the halfcourt.
On this day in 2004, @SHAQ was named All-Star game MVP, and we got this sweet AI to VC connection!#BovadaSportsHistory #NBA
— Bovada (@BovadaOfficial) February 15, 2021
The game was spectacular. You can check out some highlights here.
Who won the game?
The West won 136-132. Shaq took home the MVP with 24 points and 11 rebounds.
Relive the 2004 @NBA All-Star game NEXT on NBA TV 📺!
All-Star game MVP: @SHAQ 🏆 pic.twitter.com/HLKraKa4dr
— NBA TV (@NBATV) August 29, 2017
The funny part of all this was if the East had won, the MVP probably would’ve been…Jamaal Magloire?
He led the team in scoring with 19 points and also had 8 rebounds to go along with a block and a steal. Plenty of people call Magloire the worst All-Star ever but, hey, man. He put in work.
Is there anything else worth noting about the game?
Uhhhh, not really? Just that LeBron wasn’t there. It was still pretty fun, though!
Jay Z and Beyoncé did show up to this one, too.
Beyoncé Knowles and boyfriend Jay Z attend the 2004 NBA All-Star Game held at the Staples Center, February 15, 2004 in Los Angeles, California. pic.twitter.com/6fkVxS7P8t
— CUFF IT season | fan account (@Beyoncerelated) April 7, 2022
Let that serve as another reminder that, yes, you are old as dirt.
