Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James was a late scratch from the NBA All-Star Game, which sparked controversy and led to former players taking aim at James’ motivation and pointing out hypocrisies.

LeBron James, Bronny James

Getty: Bronny James and LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Chandler Parsons, a nine-year veteran of the league who retired following the 2019-20 season and is now a fairly prominent podcaster, was among the loudest and most recent critics of James and his son Bronny James.

“Here’s the problem I have — we’re talking about this in particular with LeBron James not wanting to play against the ‘Rising Stars,’” Parsons said on Tuesday, February 18, via the “Run It Back” podcast on FanDuel. “All these other NBA players have to play against [LeBron’s] son because LeBron has kinda put him in that situation, who’s a rising star. So what’s the difference now? He doesn’t want to play against the young guys.”

LeBron James Said Foot, Ankle Injuries Kept Him Out of All-Star Game

LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers

Getty LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers.

James officially missed the All-Star Game due to “lingering discomfort in his left foot and ankle,” according to a report from Dave McMenamin of ESPN on Sunday, February 16.

Parsons’ take assumes a popular, though unproven, theory that James sat out by choice. However, James did miss a regular season game against the Indiana Pacers the previous week due to similar issues, per McMenamin.

Sunday was James’s 21st consecutive All-Star selection across his 22-year career and the first one he missed after playing in the contest 20 straight times. He explained his absence over the weekend.

“With 30 games left and us trying to make a playoff push in the wild, wild West, I felt like it was very important for me to kind of take care of myself and understand what’s coming,” James said.

Draymond Green Among Several NBA Players Upset With All-Star Game Changes

draymond green and stephen curry

Getty: Draymond Green (left) and Stephen Curry (right) of the Golden State Warriors.

However, the notion that James was not interested in playing in the new All-Star Game format remains a popular one. The league split the All Stars into three teams and filled out a fourth squad with first- and second-year players who make up the “Rising Stars” team.

The winning group is determined by two semifinals matchups and a finals matchup. Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry’s team captured the title, while Curry went on to win the All-Star Game MVP in San Francisco — the Warriors’ home city.

Curry’s teammate Draymond Green, who has become close with James personally and professionally in recent years, was openly critical of the “Rising Stars” getting to play on Sunday, which is a day traditionally reserved for the All Stars exclusively.

“These young guys, if they’re on the ‘Rising Stars’ team, they don’t deserve the privilege of playing on Sunday,” Green told ESPN’s Marc J. Spears.

Spears added that he understood Green’s take.

“I truly understand that. [Green] felt like it cheapens what Sunday will be,” Spears said. “He liked the format. He just didn’t like it this way.”

It is unclear if the All-Star Game will remain the same in 2026 or if the NBA will tweak it further. It is also unclear if James, who turned 40 years old in December, will ever get a chance to play in the contest again before his retirement — whenever that may be.