LeBron James will sit for Lakers vs Spurs, taking him out of consideration for 22nd All-NBA honors

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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Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James warms up before the team's NBA basketball game against the Golden State Warriors Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) pauses after tossing power before an NBA basketball game against the Golden State Warriors Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James drives to the basket during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Golden State Warriors Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) reacts after making a dunk during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Oklahoma City Thunder Monday, Feb. 9, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

NEW YORK (AP) — The early Bird had to circle Yankee Stadium.

Jake Bird arrived at 8:15 a.m. Friday, more than five hours before the start of his first game in pinstripes. The gate where New York Yankees players usually enter wasn't yet open and he was told to enter from the other side of the ballpark, at Gate 6.

“I just walked around,” the relief pitcher said. "It was a nice foggy morning.”

Eight months after the Yankees acquired him from Colorado, Bird pitched in the Bronx for the first time Friday. He struck out two in a perfect seventh inning of an 8-2 win over the Miami Marlins in New York's home opener.

Bird credited Natalie Girard for recommending he account for possibly congested streets when he called for Uber pickup at his Manhattan hotel.

“My girlfriend is really familiar with New York, so she was kind of telling me, `Hey, there might be traffic in the morning, so you should get there early,'” Bird recalled. “Also, I didn’t really know where to enter the stadium and stuff and I’ve been in that spot before where I kind of got lost, so just it didn’t hurt to get here a little early and kind of familiarize myself with the place.”

Hours later, he entered with a 5-2 lead in the seventh inning. Bird retired Otto Lopez on a flyout, threw a called third strike past Owen Caissie and struck out Connor Norby.

Bird pumped both arms and screamed.

“He had a little emotional release after getting that third out,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “He was, again, really sharp, man, and went right through the middle of their order. Right, left, left was efficient.”

Bird was dealt by the Rockies for a pair of prospects last July 31, made three relief appearances on the road, the last in Texas ending with Josh Jung's three-run, walk-off homer, and was sent to Triple-A for the rest of the season.

“I know last year it didn’t really work out the way he wanted,” Yankees captain Aaron Judge said, “He’s a guy that wants to be here. He wants to be great and I think after going through last year he knows the expectations now and he’s ready to go.”

Bird has allowed one hit over 4 1/3 scoreless innings in four games this season, striking out five and walking none.

“I’m just trying to stay closed and not fly open,” he said. “I know my slider and my breaking balls have been really good and fastball is a weak point at times, so just trying to build on the breaking balls as a strength and trying to improve the fastball, as well.”

An economics major at UCLA, Bird was taken by the Rockies on the fifth round of the 2018 amateur draft and made his big league debut in 2022. He has a 4.68 ERA with 221 strikeouts in 236 2/3 innings.

“Opening day is amazing," he said, “experience it here for the first time was really cool.”

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New York Yankees' pitcher Jake Bird walks back to dugout during the sixth inning of a home-opener baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Friday, April 3, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)