LeBron James is set to play in his record-extending 20th All-Star Game at 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis.
Considering he entered the NBA as an 18-year-old in 2003, James has spent more years of his life as one of the 24 best basketball players in the world than not.
James’ longevity and consistency are unmatched in NBA history, owning All-Star Game records for most nods (20), most games played (19), most consecutive games played (19), and most total points (426). He is only one All-Star Game MVP shy of tying Kobe Bryant and Bob Pettit for the most all-time (4), and he owns the title as the youngest player to ever win an All-Star Game MVP (21 years, 51 days old in 2006).
On top of all of that, James’ 10 years as the NBA’s leading All-Star vote-getter is also the most all-time. However, with 20 All-Star nominations in his 21-year career, even James isn’t immune to getting snubbed from the world’s greatest pickup game.
James has only missed the All-Star Game once, back in 2004 during his rookie season. He was the runaway Rookie of the Year in his highly anticipated inaugural campaign, but he just missed out on what could have been a perfect 21-for-21 run (to this point) as an NBA All-Star.
Why wasn’t James an All-Star as a rookie? Let’s take a look back at the 2004 rosters and voting results.
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Why didn’t LeBron James make the All-Star Game as a rookie?
There have been 45 rookies in NBA history to make the All-Star Game, but 37 of those nods came before 1990. Since 2000, there have only been two rookie All-Stars — Yao Ming in ’03 and Blake Griffin in ’11, though the latter was in his second year as a professional after sitting out the previous season because of a knee injury.
While James felt like a prime candidate to join that list, the then-19-year-old didn’t get the support he needed from NBA coaches around the league.
At the 2004 All-Star break, James was averaging a remarkable 20.4 points, 5.8 assists, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game. The Cavaliers’ record worked against him, as they were 20-33 and in 11th place in the Eastern Conference.
That didn’t stop the fans from trying to get “The Chosen One” into the All-Star Game, though.
2004 NBA All-Star Eastern Conference fan vote
Even as one of the newest faces in the league, James finished seventh among Eastern Conference players in the fan vote. Only Vince Carter, Ben Wallace, Allen Iverson, Jermaine O’Neal, Tracy McGrady, and Jason Kidd received more.
| Rank | Player | Team | Position | Fan Votes |
| 1 | Vince Carter | Raptors | F | 2,127,183 |
| 2 | Ben Wallace | Pistons | C | 1,982,251 |
| 3 | Allen Iverson | 76ers | G | 1,731,648 |
| 4 | Jermaine O’Neal | Pacers | F | 1,629,054 |
| 5 | Tracy McGrady | Magic | G | 1,231,825 |
| 6 | Jason Kidd | Nets | G | 1,126,838 |
| 7 | LeBron James | Cavaliers | G | 768,532 |
James was listed as a guard, so he was stuck behind Iverson, McGrady, and Kidd to secure a starting spot through the fan vote. That meant he needed NBA coaches to vote him in, and they made the 19-year-old wait his turn.
2004 NBA All-Star Eastern Conference roster
| Starters | Player | Team |
| G | Allen Iverson | 76ers |
| G | Tracy McGrady | Magic |
| F | Vince Carter | Raptors |
| F | Jermaine O’Neal | Pacers |
| C | Ben Wallace | Pistons |
| Reserves | ||
| G | Baron Davis | Hornets |
| G | Jason Kidd | Nets |
| G | Michael Redd | Bucks |
| F | Ron Artest | Pacers |
| F | Paul Pierce | Celtics |
| F | Kenyon Martin | Nets |
| C | Jamaal Magloire | Hornets |
Particularly looking at the reserve guards as James’ competition, Kidd was an obvious choice with the Nets in first place coming off of an NBA Finals run.
Both Davis’ Hornets (28-24) and Redd’s Bucks (27-24) had a better record than James’ Cavaliers (20-33) at the break, and it’s hard to argue against either veteran getting the nod. Davis was averaging 23.0 points, 7.8 assists, and a league-leading 2.4 steals per game. Redd was averaging 21.9 points per game but he had gone on a couple of scoring tears at the right time, ripping off multiple 40-point games at the end of January around the time All-Star ballots are submitted.
While it might seem crazy that James wasn’t a first-year All-Star in hindsight, it appears to have been a somewhat justifiable snub in the moment.
James was still at All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles for the Rookie-Sophomore Challenge, and he spoke with the “Inside the NBA” crew about the snub after the game.
“As well as I’ve played, I think I played well enough to be in the top 12 in the Eastern Conference. But, you know, when it didn’t work out, I kinda just thought about it and just said, ‘I’m just gonna work hard and hopefully I’ll be there next year,” James told Charles Barkley.
James would go on to play in the All-Star Game for the next two decades (and counting), so things worked out for him just fine anyway.
