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Seventeen years since LeBron James made his first NBA All-Star Game appearance, the kid from Akron, Ohio, is still dominating the league.
According to the latest results released by the NBA before voting was closed, James was 800,000 votes ahead of Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry to be the Western Conference's captain.
James was tasked with carrying the Cleveland Cavaliers in his rookie year, and he did a great job, leading the team in points (20.9) and steals (1.6). Unfortunately, it was not enough for him to make the All-Star team.
The 2003 draft's first overall pick turned up the burners in his sophomore season, earning his first All-Star nod and has since then never missed the event.
It was a wholesome moment for 20-year-old James as he shared a locker room with some of the biggest names in basketball at the time.
With talents like Allen Iverson and Shaquille O'Neal in the arena, James wasted no time socializing, moving from player to player to make sure his Nike Zoom LeBron 2 was signed by almost every player.
In a video released by the NBA, James is seen getting signatures from Iverson, Vince Carter, Dwyane Wade, Antawn Jamison and Grant Hill. At the end of the video, LeBron asked, "Who am I missing?" suggesting he had signatures from everyone else, including Gilbert Arenas, Paul Pierce, Jermaine O'Neal, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Ben Wallace except Shaq.
The event was held at Pepsi Center in Denver, and the Eastern Conference won 125-115. While Iverson won the All-Star MVP after his 15-point double-double, LBJ finished with 13 points, six assists and a team-high eight rebounds.
James could be an All-Star captain for the fifth consecutive year
The NBA introduced the captain format in 2018 as a change to the East vs. West scenario fans grew all too fond of. The captains were players who earned the most votes in each conference, and they could draft their teammates from a pool of players voted by fans, players and the media.
In that first year, LeBron James was the captain from the East while Steph Curry captained the West. Since joining the Lakers in 2018, LeBron has been the West's captain.
James had 800,000-plus votes barely two days before the voting ended. Although the league will have to make the announcement first, it is almost certain LeBron will be a captain for the fifth consecutive season.
James has been performing at an awe-inspiring high level this season. It is doubly incredible, seeing as he is in his 19th year and averaging similar numbers to when he was a lot younger and in his prime. The four-time NBA champ is averaging 29.1 points (second-best in the league), 7.7 rebounds, 6.3 steals, 1.6 steals and 1.1 blocks while shooting 52.2%.
