On Sunday, the 2026 All-Star reserves were announced for each conference, as Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James earned the nod despite only playing 31 games this season. Across those contests, he's averaged 21.9 points, 6.6 assists, and 5.8 rebounds, now taking a backseat to Luka Doncic in this offense.

While he broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record of 19 All-Star appearances back in 2024 with his 20th selection, James now has 22 All-Star appearances to his name, a record that may never be broken. Playing 22 seasons in the NBA is hard enough, but being healthy enough to earn that many selections may be the hardest part.

Even though James' selection was met by criticism due to the exclusion of Kawhi Leonard, it's hard to deny that LeBron hasn't been All-Star worthy this season, especially given that he's doing all of this at 41 years old.

After the Lakers' loss to the New York Knicks, James responded to earning his 22nd selection.

"Obviously, super humbling...Mad respect to the coaches and them seeing I'm still playing at this later stage of my career. To be able to be an All-Star means a lot to my family, people that's been following my career, my LeBron faithful, that's been following my journey," LeBron said.

James has actually been playing his best basketball as of late, as he averaged 23.5 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 6.7 assists during January, including an unprecedented 84.5% free-throw percentage.

"It's always rewarding just from a humble standpoint to be able to be rewarded for what you put your work into. So that's pretty cool," he added.

In a later question, James addressed that making the All-Star team wasn't on his mind after missing the preseason and the first 14 games of the regular season. If Austin Reaves hadn't gone down with an injury, perhaps James would've never been able to put up the stats to earn a selection then.

Making the All-Star game might be something that James appreciates, but in all likelihood, he cares more about chasing one more ring to add to his Hall of Fame resume.

The Lakers currently sit as the sixth seed in the Western Conference as of Monday, but still need to make some moves if they want to get closer to the top tier of contenders. Reaves' return to the lineup will help, but their problems are mainly concerned about their depth and three-point shooting struggles.

If the Lakers can add the right pieces before and after the trade deadline, they'll be a team others won't want to face come playoff time with Doncic and LeBron rising to the occasion.