LeBron Savaged After Selfishly Skipping Game at the Last Second, Struggling NBA Silent

Just weeks after a blockbuster trade nabbed all the headlines for new Los Angeles Laker Luka Doncic, LeBron James has successfully wrestled back the spotlight from his teammate.

It just probably wasn’t how he wanted to do it.

James, no stranger to controversy (or roasting from viewers), was lambasted by fans after he abruptly pulled out of the NBA All Star Game on Sunday, just a couple hours before tip-off.

And those angry fans think they know exactly why James pulled the stunt the way he did.

To wit, the NBA, whose television ratings woes are a poorly kept secret in the media world, held its annual All Star festivities over the weekend. Events ranged from a celebrity game, to a three-point contest, to a dunk contest.

The ostensible crown jewel of the event, however, is Sunday’s All Star game itself, which pits some of the best basketball players in the world against each other.

(That is, if they’re trying. A common knock against the modern All Star game and its diminishing ratings is that the players don’t put any effort into the game.)

The All Star game itself, usually played like a traditional basketball game, has gone under a massive restructure this year, featuring four mini-teams playing in a tournament, where games are won by the first team to score 40.

It’s as confusing as it sounds and is virtually unrecognizable from the days of Michael Jordan trying to rip the figurative heart out of Clyde Drexler in an All Star game.

Given how unrecognizable the game’s format is, it would’ve been nice to feature one of the most recognizable — for better and for worse — faces in the world of professional sports.

Or, in lieu of that, it would’ve been nearly as nice if said recognizable face was properly replaced by another, slightly less recognizable face.

James ensured neither would happen by withdrawing from the game so close to tip-off.

(In fact, one of those four squads was captained and named after James himself: “Team LeBron.”)

As the NBA remained mum on James citing mysterious injury ailments for pulling out (it’s against NBA rules to falsify information on injury reports), fans raged against James for seemingly trying to preserve his All Star candidacy.

Had James pulled out earlier, the NBA would’ve had enough time to find a suitable replacement, though it’s fair to wonder if James would’ve bristled at seeing something like “Team Doncic” replace “Team LeBron.”

But had Doncic, or someone else, stepped up to replace him, that would’ve come at James’ personal expense, snapping his two-decade All Star streak.

And fans are privy to that idea:

Selfish as always. He just HAD to be there to stat pad another All Star selection….crazy he’s anybody’s Goat….

— 𝔻𝕠𝕞𝕚𝕟𝕚𝕔𝕜 🎧 𝕍𝕚𝕘𝕘𝕚𝕒𝕟𝕠 𝕏 (@dj_viggi) February 17, 2025

“Selfish as always,” one X user said in response to a clip of the interview. “He just HAD to be there to stat pad another All Star selection.”

Given that the injuries James is purportedly nursing are severe enough to keep him out of a game, some fans surmised that James knew he was hurt — thus having ample time to nobly allow a younger star to take his place.

“He knew he wasn’t going to play,” the user posted. “Could’ve stepped aside and let someone else get a shot but he’d never do that.”

James, Doncic, and the rest of their merry band of Lakers will next play Wednesday, when the team hosts the Charlotte Hornets.

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