By GREG BEACHAM AP Sports Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James will sit out of the Los Angeles Lakers’ game against the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night due to left foot arthritis, a decision that will prevent him from qualifying for consideration for his 22nd straight appearance on an All-NBA team.
Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Deandre Ayton and Marcus Smart are also sitting out.
James has been on one of the three All-NBA postseason teams in each of his last 21 seasons, but this game will be the 18th he has missed this season. Players must play in at least 65 games to be considered for end-of-season awards under the NBA’s current rules.
James is playing in his unprecedented 23rd season, but he missed training camp and the Lakers’ first 14 games due to sciatica. He has played in back-to-back games at times since getting healthy, but the Lakers have also monitored his health closely in hopes of keeping him relatively fresh for the stretch run.
The Lakers announced their decision to rest five regular starters about five hours before they hosted the Spurs in the second night of a brutal back-to-back set against the Western Conference’s top two teams. Los Angeles lost to Oklahoma City on Monday, while the Spurs haven’t played since Saturday.
“LeBron, obviously dealing with the history of injuries he’s had, and to start the year, it just depends on how he wakes up the next day and as he goes through his treatment in the morning,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said before the game. “But we ruled him out.”
Los Angeles is also holding out NBA scoring leader Doncic (left hamstring strain) for the third straight game, along with Reaves (left calf injury management), Ayton (right knee soreness) and Smart (right ankle). Doncic is missing his 10th game this season, and Redick called him “day to day” without elaborating.
“Austin is coming back from a tissue injury and was only going to play in one of these (back-to-back) games,” Redick said. “Luka continues to progress. Smart tweaked his ankle in that fourth quarter (Monday) and played through it. Woke up today and had a pretty high level of soreness.”
James is playing well when healthy this season, averaging 21.7 points, 6.9 assists and 5.7 rebounds over 34 games. The Lakers (32-20) are in the thick of the West playoff race despite having James, Doncic and Reaves all in the same lineup for just 10 games so far this season.
James was selected for the All-Star Game this weekend in Inglewood, California. So was Doncic, who was the leading vote-getter.
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