Lakers' LeBron James officially ineligible for awards; historic All-NBA streak to end

In addition to being without Luka Doncic (left hamstring strain), Los Angeles also won’t have LeBron James (left foot arthritis), Austin Reaves (left calf injury management), or Marcus Smart (right ankle soreness) available, the team announced (via Khobi Price of the California Post). Starting center Deandre Ayton is considered questionable to play due to right knee soreness.

James’ absence is the most notable of the bunch, since it will be the 18th game he has missed this season. That means he won’t reach the 65-game threshold this season, which is the minimum required for a player to be eligible for end-of-season awards.

James’ numbers this season — 21.8 points, 6.9 assists, and 5.7 rebounds per game on 50.2% shooting — are a step down from the ones he has put up in recent years, but they were still enough to earn him an All-Star berth and could’ve potentially gotten him into the All-NBA conversation if he had stayed healthy and helped lead the Lakers to a playoff spot.

However, as a result of his various injury absences, including a bout with sciatica that cost him the first 14 games of the year, we know now that James’ record-setting streak of All-NBA nods will come to an end after 21 consecutive seasons.

The short-handed Lakers will be looking to bounce back after losing at home on Monday by a score of 119-110 to a Thunder team missing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. According to Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times, James suggested in his postgame media session that the outcome showed how far away Los Angeles is from being a legitimate title contender.

“That’s a championship team right there, we’re not,” James said. “We can’t sustain energy and effort for 48 minutes and they can. That’s why they won a championship.”