The starters for the NBA All-Star game were announced on Thursday and as expected, the Los Angeles Lakers LeBron James was among them for the Western Conference. With his most recent All-Star selection, James made a bit of history. This will be his 19th All-Star appearance and 19th consecutive appearance as well. Not only did James tie Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for most All-Star appearances, but he also surpassed another Lakers legend, Kobe Bryant, for most consecutive All-Star appearances as per ESPN's Stats & Info.

LeBron James has been named an All-Star every season he's been in the NBA with the exception of his rookie season. In comparison, Kobe Bryant was named to the All-Star team every season he was in the league with the exception of his rookie season in 1996-97 and his third year in 1998-99 which was a lockout shortened season. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was named an All-Star for every season he was in the league with the exception of the 1977-78 season. Bryant had 17 consecutive seasons as an All-Star and Abdul-Jabbar's record was 11 seasons. But Abdul-Jabbar was the only one of the trio who was named an All-Star in his rookie season.

This season, James has been averaging 29.9 points per game, 8.5 rebounds, and 7.0 assists while shooting 50.7 percent from the field and 30.4 percent from the three-point line. At age 38, James has showed no signs of slowing down and is still one of the most dominant forces in the league. The Lakers have been playing much better in the new year as they look to make up ground in the Western Conference standings.