Carmelo Anthony admits that LeBron should have given up his All-Star spot

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James was among the players selected to participate in the tournament during the 2025 NBA All-Star Weekend at Chase Center. It marked the 21st selection of his career, yet James didn’t suit up in the tournament at all.

James decided to sit out due to discomfort in his left foot and ankle. However, he announced his decision just a few hours prior to tipoff, and as a result, there was no injury replacement for the NBA’s oldest player.

Former Lakers forward Carmelo Anthony thinks that James should have conceded his All-Star spot.

“Yo bro, the man been playing for 23 years,” Anthony said of his former teammate. “The man’s been in 20-something All-Star Games n—-. The only issue is he should have just gave it to somebody. That’s the only thing.”

Anthony was also asked about James taking pictures in street clothes instead of his All-Star jersey.

“I don’t give a f— about none of that,” Anthony said.

James was slated to play in the tournament alongside some of the other better veteran players in the league such as Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry and Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant. James was a part of a team represented by Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal (Shaq’s OGs) for the 2025 All-Star Game.

Even sans the 40-year-old, Team Shaq was the last team standing, and Curry took home MVP honors.

The forward has the most All-Star selections to his name of any one player in the history of the league. Los Angeles Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has the second-most ever with a whopping 19.

James cited the notion that the Lakers are still fighting for playoff positioning in the Western Conference when explaining his decision to sit out of the tournament. Even if James should have ruled himself out of the event more in advance so that another player could have taken his place, his showing against the Denver Nuggets on Saturday hinted that maybe he made the right decision.

The Nuggets headed into the contest with a nine-game winning streak, though the team lost to the Lakers by more than 20 points thanks in part to a big all-around showing from James. He totaled 25 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots. Furthermore, he shot 11-of-19 from the floor.

James and the Lakers are within range of a top-three seed in the Western Conference following their impressive road win over Denver. Los Angeles is currently just 2.5 games behind the Memphis Grizzlies for the conference’s No. 2 seed.