And judging by the results of the first returns of the NBA All-Star voting, it looks like the King won’t be starting in the game, as he currently sits in ninth place in the Western Conference with 536,555 votes. However, according to Draymond Green, this should not be a reason why the Los Angeles Lakers superstar shouldn’t make it to the annual NBA event.

NBA has to find a way

With averages of 20.3 points and 6.5 assists per game, James remains a productive player for the Lakers. Although he’s clearly no longer the No.1 guy, with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves taking over the playmaking and scoring chores, respectively, his contributions to L.A. shouldn’t be overlooked.

However, there’s no denying that his popularity has seen better days.

That said, Green conveyed that just because James won’t accumulate enough votes to be named to the All-Star Game, as he used to, it doesn’t mean he isn’t deserving of a spot in the game.

“You ask yourself the question of: Does he get voted in from the coaches as a reserve? And I don’t know, he’s only played 14 games. I don’t know how they’re looking at this or what they’ll do,” he said on his podcast.

“But what I know is they better make sure he is — like, it’s LeBron James, and he’s who he is to this league. He started the year off hurt, but I don’t know. Like, I don’t know the right answer other than: figure it out,” Green added.

The Golden State Warriors forward proposed that league commissioner Adam Silver appoint James as a “special roster addition” just like he did during the 2019 All-Star Game in Charlotte, when he included Dwyane Wade and Dirk Nowitzki, both of whom were playing in their final NBA seasons, to the All-Star Game rosters.

“You know, I played in the All-Star Game where the commish added Dirk and D-Wade as, like, legends of the game,” Dray surmised. “And, like, it was their last one, and they are who they are. They should be. And it’s the same with Bron, like in the games in LA.”