LeBron James' All-NBA streak of 21 years comes to an end

[p]The injury management strategy on the second night of a back-to-back means [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/james-lebron/nuIVxFJk/"]James[/a] will miss his 18th game of the season and won't be eligible for season awards. James last failed to make an All-NBA squad in 2003-04, his rookie season with the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/cleveland-cavaliers/xGk13Tb6/"]Cleveland Cavaliers[/a].[/p][p]He'll be joined on the sidelines by teammates [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/doncic-luka/pQ4ZBK0o/"]Luka Doncic[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/austin-reaves/xlCMu1nk/"]Austin Reaves[/a], and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/smart-marcus/Q1HV4AFU/"]Marcus Smart[/a].[/p][embed guid="9aae3b16-1615-4013-9d76-26c40fe5b1dd" url="https://x.com/YahooSports/status/2021333318835511721?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]Doncic will miss his third straight game with a hamstring strain, Reaves will sit out the second night of a back-to-back as the team manages the calf injury that sidelined him for 19 games, and Smart is out with a sore right ankle.[/p][p]Injuries have been a key factor as the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/los-angeles-lakers/ngegZ8bg/"]Lakers[/a] struggled for consistency this season. But after Monday's loss to the NBA champion [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/oklahoma-city-thunder/0fHFHEWD/"]Oklahoma City Thunder[/a], James was blunt in his assessment of Los Angeles' shortcomings, and he didn't use injuries as an excuse.[/p][p][b]"You want me to compare us to them,"[/b] he said. [b]"That's a championship team right there. We're not.[/b][/p][p][b]"We can't sustain energy and effort for 48 minutes, and they can. That's why they won a championship."[/b][/p][p]James scored 14 of his 22 points in the second half on Monday, but after 35-plus minutes on court, he admitted he was feeling the strain.[/p][p][b]"I'm tired,"[/b] he told reporters after the Lakers saw a three-game winning streak end.[/p]