“More like Captain due to popularity lmao”: NBA Twitter roasts LeBron James’ All-Star return as Captain, fans left baffled

LA Lakers superstar LeBron James will captain the Western Conference Team in his record-setting 20th appearance in the NBA All-Star Game. Some fans, however, deemed he was not deserving of the captaincy this season and moved to roast him about it on social media.

"The King" was named captain in the West after topping the All-Star voting in the conference with nearly 5.1 million votes, some 500,000 ahead of second-running Nikola Jokic of the defending champions Denver Nuggets.

By making another All-Star selection, LeBron James moved past Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (19) with the most selections in NBA history.

But while he made history, some quarters felt James was not deserving of being named All-Star West captain since the Lakers, among other things, are currently struggling in the ongoing season. They took their sentiments to X, formerly Twitter:

@_migsarellano wrote: Dude is not even close to being the best player in the West. More like Captain due to popularity lmao

@COSportsNut wrote: So disrespectful to the TRUE best player in the West. Jokić should be the captain but the All Star Game is nothing more than a popularity contest tbh.

@himdontay wrote: Why is the captain not the best player on the team

@lilkasperss wrote: Feel bad for other players. We gotta stop putting guys in based on name

@ValParfenoff wrote: Why captain again?

@IcebergKanon1 wrote: WTF how is he captain

@Modise2607 wrote: Honestly Lebron didn't deserve start or be captain, they just chose him because he is lebron

@HoodiSkrt wrote: not deserved

@Atompi314 wrote: Hahahahaah of course the guy on the 10 place team is the captain Wake up dude is 19th in scoring and 36th in rebounds 9th in assists 65th in 3pt shooting @ClownWorld_

@rickmedrano69 wrote: What a joke! Hasn't lead his team all year and probably won't make the playoffs.

LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo top All-Star voting

LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo will captain the West and East squads, respectively, in this year’s All-Star Game. The two earned the nod for captaincy after topping the voting in their respective conferences after the final tally, which was released on Thursday.

James, who will be making a record 20th appearance in the Midseason Classic, led the way in the West with 5.1 million votes while eight-time All-Star Antetokounmpo received 5.4 million votes in the East.

The All-Star starters were selected through a formula where fan voting counted for 50%, voting by players themselves for 25% and voting by a panel of writers and broadcasters who cover the NBA for the other 25%.

Also voted starters were Nikola Jokic (Denver), Luka Doncic (Dallas), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC) and Kevin Durant (Phoenix) in the West. Out East were Damian Lillard (Milwaukee), Jayson Tatum (Boston) Joel Embiid (Philadelphia) and Tyrese Haliburton (Indiana).

The 2024 All-Star Game will played in Indiana and will be reverting to the West versus East format. In the past six editions of the ASG, the leading vote-getters from each conference served as captains who got to draft their teams; LeBron James served as one of the captains all six times, with Antetokounmpo the other captain three times, Durant twice and Stephen Curry once.