Is LeBron James’ NBA All-Star Game voting a sign of the times?

It looked like a misprint at first glance a day before LeBron James’ 41st birthday.

James, arguably the NBA’s greatest player of all time, has annually been at the top of All-Star Game voting — 21-record years to be exact as an All-Star starter. But for King James, perhaps there is a changing of the guard in the NBA as his popularity took a surprising dip for the first time in his iconic career.

The NBA announced on Dec. 29 its first returns for 2026 NBA All-Star fan voting for starters. Those results stunningly listed James ninth in the Western Conference voting with 536,555 votes. There are 14 other NBA players who have more overall votes than James. Yes, 14, including Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija, who has never been named an All-Star. Yet, he received nearly 70,000 more votes than the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.

The 2026 NBA All-Star Game in Los Angeles will include at least 24 All-Stars, per usual. This year, however, will include a USA versus World format, including two American teams and one World team playing in a round-robin tournament.

Under this new format, 16 Americans are projected to be selected. So, while James’ reign as a starter is expected to end, he will likely be voted to one of the two USA teams by Western Conference coaches.

James entered the week averaging career lows of 20.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 6.7 assists through 14 games. Lakers teammates Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves are each averaging more points per game than James. Even so, such averages for James at 41 are stunning and wishful thinking for most NBA players. The four-time NBA Most Valuable Player even scored a season-high 36 points against the Los Angeles Clippers on Dec. 20.

So, why did James drop so low in the first All-Star balloting?

Well, this is a very-hard-to-answer question since the demographics, age and location of the fans who voted aren’t listed. James was the most-viewed NBA player on social media last season. But on Dec. 23, he dropped to fourth behind Doncic, San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama and Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry on an NBA list of the 10 most-viewed players this season.

Perhaps James is lagging behind because he missed training camp and the start of the season with sciatica. What’s worth noting is that James’ biggest historical rival, Michael Jordan, had a drop from All-Star grace at the end of his career, too.

At 39, Jordan wasn’t voted by fans as an Eastern Conference All-Star starter during his 2002-03 swan song season. East All-Star coach Isiah Thomas encouraged a willing Vince Carter to give up his starting spot to Jordan during the 2003 NBA All-Star Game. Jordan, then playing for the Washington Wizards, was celebrated during a halftime performance by legendary singer Mariah Carey.

Unlike Jordan, it’s uncertain if this will be James’ last NBA season. There is certainly nothing more for James to accomplish. He is the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, a four-time NBA champion, and his son, Bronny, is also in the league.

Could this be a nudge for the legion of James’ most ardent fans to vote him into a starting spot? Or could this be a nudge for James to say this is his last season? There have been hints that the end is near but nothing of substance.

No matter what, King James deserves the same league-wide reverence given to the likes of Jordan, Julius Erving, Larry Bird, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Kobe Bryant when they departed with farewell tours. The difference, however, was that those stars announced their goodbyes before their final seasons.

The NBA could certainly celebrate James in Los Angeles during NBA All-Star Weekend if he were to announce beforehand that this would be his last season. The former Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat star is scheduled to play in Cleveland on Jan. 28 and in Miami on March 19, possibly for the last time. The Lakers also play in New York City against the New York Knicks in world famous Madison Square Garden on Feb. 1.

Stay tuned. Just in case, maybe it’s time to give Beyonce a heads-up for a potential NBA All-Star Game halftime performance in James’ honor at the Intuit Dome.

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