Despite not being able to secure a championship ring for his team again, LeBron James’ contribution during the regular season and the playoffs were not unnoticed. A few hours ago, the NBA released the list of the players who are set to be honored by having their name inducted into the ‘All-NBA Team’ list for this season. While players like Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic were named to the ‘All-NBA First Team’, LeBron James was named to the ‘Third Team’. This is the 20 time during the player’s 21-year career that he has been named to one of the three teams.

While this achievement was nothing short of commendable, a renowned sports television personality was upset with the fact that a prominent LA Clippers player was given a higher ranking than LeBron.

A few hours ago, Fox Sports 1 contributor Nick Wright took to his official X account, stating that while he is not getting “too worked up”, he is still upset over the fact that 32-year-old Kawhi Leonard was named to the ‘All-NBA Second Team’, a level higher than the honor bestowed upon LeBron. He even proceeded to call the act “indefensible”, and that no proper argument could be made to justify the same.

Fans react to Kawhi Leonard being named above LeBron James

No sooner had Wright put out the X post, when more than 300 people highlighted their reactions to the news as well. One user stated that it’s “Heartbreaking” that the All-Time Leading Scorer has been named to the ‘All-NBA Third Team’, even though he has devoted over two decades of his life to the NBA. Plus, with the player approaching his 40 birthday soon, who knows how much longer he will continue as a player?

It is important to note that out of the 20 times LeBron James was named to the All-NBA team, he was ranked in the third place on only 4 occasions. The player was named to the first team a whopping 13 times and was part of the second team in 3 instances. However, given that the player was named to the third team for three consecutive years, from 2022 to 2024, the user is right in stating that his contribution may be going “underrated”.

One individual agreed with Nick Wright using Kawhi Leonard as a benchmark to highlight his frustration. He stated that the Clippers star is one of the most “overrated” players in the history of the league.

During the 68 regular season games that he played this tournament, Kawhi Leonard led the scoring effort for the Clippers by securing an average score of 23.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 3.6 assists to his name. However, the player had been dealing with a right knee inflammation that resulted in his absence from several crucial games. Plus, due to the injury, his average score significantly dropped when the Clippers arrived in the playoffs. This resulted in the Clippers losing to the Mavericks by 2-4.

Another user chose to provide an opposing viewpoint to Nick Wright’s remark. He stated that the panel of sportswriters and broadcasters, who vote for the All-Team honor, would be probably willing to place LeBron in a higher standing if he and the Lakers could manage to go past the playoffs.

The last time that LeBron James won the NBA championship was back in 2020. Since then, he hasn’t been named to the All-NBA First Team as well. LeBron was part of the First Team when he won his previous three championships (2012, 2013, and 2016) as well. In 2021, the player and his team were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. They didn’t qualify in 2022 and lost the Western Conference Finals in 2023.

Another commenter chose to side neither with LeBron James nor Kawhi Leonard. Instead, he stated that Boston Celtics scorer Jaylen Brown should have been placed higher than both individuals, in the first team.

The Celtics have managed to reach the Eastern Conference Finals for the third consecutive time, with the hope that they will win their first championship since 2008. Much of this had been made possible due to Jaylen Brown, who averaged 23 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.6 assists during the regular season. His average continued to remain almost the same in the playoffs as well. Despite this, the player failed to make any of the ‘All-NBA Teams’. This was due to the fact that he received just 50 votes, while Devin Booker, the last person in the category, won 70.

One user stated that the voters would have found it difficult to grant two players from the Lakers a high spot. Plus, it didn’t help the fact that the team had gotten eliminated while occupying the 8 seed on the points chart.

While LeBron James was named to the third team, the Lakers’ second-highest average scorer, 31-year-old Anthony Davis, was named to the second team. This marks the fifth time that Davis has received this honor.

Overall, the reactions of NBA enthusiasts were mixed. Some criticized the fact that LeBron was listed so low, while others attempted to justify the reasoning behind the same. However, not many chose to defend Kawhi Leonard.

Which All-NBA Team do you think LeBron James should have been a part of? Let us know in the comments down below.