LeBron James named to All-NBA team for record 18th straight time

LeBron James has gotten plenty of criticism for how the 2021-22 season turned out for him and his Los Angeles Lakers.

Many have blamed him for the team’s acquisition of Russell Westbrook, a move that has widely been considered a failure.

James has also been accused by many of looking to pad his stats this season at the expense of empowering his teammates and helping his team win games.

But he still got his flowers from members of the media.

On Tuesday, the four-time MVP was named to the All-NBA team, making it the 18th consecutive time he has gotten such a selection.

It extended his record a bit over Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who were chosen to the All-NBA team 15 times each.

But was James snubbed?

One has to wonder if James got disrespected by being named to only the All-NBA Third Team.

The last time he only got chosen to be on that squad was in the 2018-19 season, when he missed the playoffs in his first year with the Lakers.

This year, James had one of the best statistical campaigns he has ever had, averaging 30.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game.

His 30.3 points per contest is the second-highest scoring average of his career, and he narrowly missed out on his second scoring title.

Based on his individual production this year, one can make a strong argument that he deserved to be on the second or even the first team.

Unfortunately, many journalists who vote for such awards seem to take team success into consideration, and one can only surmise that the Lakers’ disastrous season is why James only got the nod for the third team.

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