Julius Randle deserved an All-Star spot over LeBron for painfully obvious reasons

On Sunday, the NBA announced their reserve All-Stars for both conferences. For the Minnesota Timberwolves, there was no question that Anthony Edwards would be one of the one announced for the West, which he was.

The intrigue surrounding the announcement was whether Julius Randle would be joining Ant-Man at the Intuit Dome on February 15. For now, he’s not, and putting in LeBron James over him seems like more of a career achievement honor.

No matter how you slice it, Randle is a more deserving All-Star than LeBron

Let’s start with the obvious. LeBron missed the first 14 games of the season with sciatica. While he’s missed only two games since, that’s still 16 missed outings.

The Timberwolves have played 50 games this season. Randle has made 50 appearances. His 1,664 minutes played are substantially more than James’ 1,026. In LeBron’s minutes, the Lakers have actually been outscored by 48 points. Minnesota is a +207 with Randle on the court. Los Angeles is 3.6 points better per 100 possessions with LeBron OFF the court.

Even for those who just look at stats, their averages are quite similar. Randle holds a slight advantage in scoring (22.3 to 21.9) with field goal and 3-point percentages that are about equal (Randle holds a fairly large edge in free-throw percentage). Randle averages more rebounds (6.9 to 5.8), fewer assists (5.4 to 6.6), but also fewer turnovers (2.4 to 2.8).

The advanced metrics also give a large advantage to Randle over James. Randle has more than double the win shares over LeBron, with a 6.0 to 2.6 edge. Randle's VORP is 2.1, compared to James, who is at 1.3.

Now with this information provided, and with Randle having played more than 600 more minutes than LeBron this season, I ask how James is an All-Star and Julius isn’t? Look, if this is LeBron’s last season and the NBA wants him in the game, then have Adam Silver add a roster spot for him as he did for Dirk Nowitzki and Dwyane Wade in 2019. 

For the coaches to vote for him in over Randle (as well as Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, and Alperen Sengun) is just wrong if they take their vote seriously. Keep in mind, LeBron backed out of last year’s game rather late, which didn’t give the NBA time to name a replacement.

It feels like voting him an All-Star this year is just to further feed into his ego and add to his accomplishments (as if one more All-Star nod is going to change people’s perception of him as an all-time great).

Every year, it seems as if injury replacements are needed, so Julius could still be joining Edwards at the 2026 All-Star Game. It just seems wrong that he has to wait for that to possibly occur, while LeBron doesn't.