WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.859 Okay, let's get into it. It is Wednesday, February 00:00:02.859 --> 00:00:07.580 18th, 2026. Right. And if you have been anywhere 00:00:07.580 --> 00:00:11.380 near a screen or a sports bar or, you know, the 00:00:11.380 --> 00:00:13.560 internet in the last few days, you know exactly 00:00:13.560 --> 00:00:16.039 what time it is. The dust is settling. The dust 00:00:16.039 --> 00:00:18.879 is settling. The confetti's been swept up. We 00:00:18.879 --> 00:00:22.339 are on the other side of the 2026 NBA All -Star 00:00:22.339 --> 00:00:25.039 Weekend. And, you know, usually the Wednesday 00:00:25.039 --> 00:00:28.039 after All -Star Weekend is a bit of a... A hangover. 00:00:28.039 --> 00:00:30.379 It's quiet. Yeah, totally. It's usually just 00:00:30.379 --> 00:00:32.119 people complaining about the dunk contest or 00:00:32.119 --> 00:00:34.880 something. But this here feels... I don't know. 00:00:34.880 --> 00:00:37.280 It feels distinct. It felt consequential, didn't 00:00:37.280 --> 00:00:39.320 it? Yeah, there's a weight to what we just watched. 00:00:39.439 --> 00:00:41.479 And look, for most people, All -Star Weekend 00:00:41.479 --> 00:00:44.159 is just a spectacle. It's the dunks. It's celebrities 00:00:44.159 --> 00:00:46.479 sitting courtside wearing sunglasses indoors. 00:00:46.780 --> 00:00:49.159 And absolutely zero defense. Hero defense for 00:00:49.159 --> 00:00:52.259 48 minutes. But that is not why we're here. We're 00:00:52.259 --> 00:00:54.240 here to do what we do, a deep dive. We're going 00:00:54.240 --> 00:00:56.079 to ignore the highlights and look at the actual 00:00:56.079 --> 00:00:58.700 documentation. We are looking at the source code 00:00:58.700 --> 00:01:02.259 of the league, really. We have the official historical 00:01:02.259 --> 00:01:05.599 list of NBA All -Stars. The complete registry, 00:01:05.760 --> 00:01:10.609 updated as of, well, this week. And it is a fascinating 00:01:10.609 --> 00:01:12.689 document. You know, I opened this file expecting 00:01:12.689 --> 00:01:15.489 just like a list of names, maybe some dates. 00:01:15.650 --> 00:01:17.750 Right. But what you're actually looking at is 00:01:17.750 --> 00:01:20.209 a timeline of how the sport has evolved going 00:01:20.209 --> 00:01:23.310 all the way back to the very first game in 1951. 00:01:23.430 --> 00:01:26.109 It's a living document. It is. But before we 00:01:26.109 --> 00:01:27.769 get into the history, I want to start with a 00:01:27.769 --> 00:01:29.930 number that you pointed out, a number that actually 00:01:29.930 --> 00:01:32.549 made me stop and like do the math twice because 00:01:32.549 --> 00:01:36.469 I didn't believe it. The 466. 466. Yeah. And 00:01:36.469 --> 00:01:38.819 it sounds like. a decent number of people until 00:01:38.819 --> 00:01:41.400 you actually zoom out. As of right now, think 00:01:41.400 --> 00:01:44.200 about the entire history of the NBA. Right. The 00:01:44.200 --> 00:01:46.599 thousands upon thousands of players who've been 00:01:46.599 --> 00:01:48.859 drafted, who've signed 10 -day contracts, the 00:01:48.859 --> 00:01:50.900 guys who started for a year or two. Journeymen, 00:01:51.260 --> 00:01:53.439 G League call -ups, all of them. Out of that 00:01:53.439 --> 00:01:56.140 entire ocean of humanity that has played professional 00:01:56.140 --> 00:01:59.900 basketball, only 466 men have ever been selected 00:01:59.900 --> 00:02:02.480 to an all -star roster. That is the statistic 00:02:02.480 --> 00:02:04.879 that defines this whole deep dive for me today, 00:02:05.019 --> 00:02:07.840 because we throw that term all -star around so 00:02:07.840 --> 00:02:10.219 loosely. We say, oh, he's playing at an all -star 00:02:10.219 --> 00:02:11.900 level. That was an all -star performance. But 00:02:11.900 --> 00:02:15.759 the actual club, the registry, it's the 1 % of 00:02:15.759 --> 00:02:17.960 the 1%. It really is. I mean, I had to realize 00:02:17.960 --> 00:02:21.259 there are guys who play 10, 12 years in this 00:02:21.259 --> 00:02:24.860 league, solid starters, household names in their 00:02:24.860 --> 00:02:28.199 cities. Guys with $100 million contracts. Exactly. 00:02:28.520 --> 00:02:32.490 Who never, ever. crack this list not one time 00:02:32.490 --> 00:02:35.469 you can be a very good player for an entire decade 00:02:35.469 --> 00:02:38.750 and never be one of the 466 so our mission today 00:02:38.750 --> 00:02:41.610 is to figure out why We want to understand the 00:02:41.610 --> 00:02:43.909 mechanism behind this list. We want to find the 00:02:43.909 --> 00:02:46.509 anomalies, the guys who maybe shouldn't be there 00:02:46.509 --> 00:02:48.909 but are, and the legends who missed out. And 00:02:48.909 --> 00:02:50.469 we have to talk about the massive structural 00:02:50.469 --> 00:02:53.750 shift we just saw in 2026. Oh, absolutely. Because 00:02:53.750 --> 00:02:55.469 if you were watching this weekend, you realized 00:02:55.469 --> 00:02:58.469 pretty quickly that the NBA has just completely 00:02:58.469 --> 00:03:00.629 reinvented the wheel. It wasn't just, you know, 00:03:00.650 --> 00:03:02.889 a format tweak. It felt like a historic pivot. 00:03:03.469 --> 00:03:06.150 I think in 20 years. We're going to look back 00:03:06.150 --> 00:03:09.569 at the 2026 All -Star Game as the moment the 00:03:09.569 --> 00:03:12.830 league officially acknowledged a new era. The 00:03:12.830 --> 00:03:15.750 world format. The world format. But let's not 00:03:15.750 --> 00:03:18.509 get ahead of ourselves. To understand why 2026 00:03:18.509 --> 00:03:21.310 is so important, I feel like we have to understand 00:03:21.310 --> 00:03:25.250 what it replaced, what we lost. Because for the 00:03:25.250 --> 00:03:27.289 longest time, the All -Star Game was a very, 00:03:27.310 --> 00:03:30.930 very simple concept. It was geography. Pure and 00:03:30.930 --> 00:03:33.250 simple. It was tribal. Right. I grew up in the 00:03:33.250 --> 00:03:35.629 90s. It was the Eastern Conference versus the 00:03:35.629 --> 00:03:37.409 Western Conference, and that meant something. 00:03:37.530 --> 00:03:39.490 That was the traditional era, and it ran for 00:03:39.490 --> 00:03:41.889 decades. It was the absolute bedrock of the event. 00:03:42.069 --> 00:03:44.689 Why did it work so well for so long? Because 00:03:44.689 --> 00:03:47.009 the league was structured that way. You played 00:03:47.009 --> 00:03:49.250 your conference rivals four times a year. If 00:03:49.250 --> 00:03:51.270 you were a Knicks fan, you genuinely hated the 00:03:51.270 --> 00:03:53.409 Chicago Bulls. Oh, yeah. If you were a Lakers 00:03:53.409 --> 00:03:56.590 fan, you despised the Spurs or the Kings. So 00:03:56.590 --> 00:03:59.099 when the All -Star game happened... You were 00:03:59.099 --> 00:04:01.419 forcing these rivals to become teammates for 00:04:01.419 --> 00:04:03.599 one night to beat the other side. It had a very 00:04:03.599 --> 00:04:06.460 Civil War kind of vibe to it. Like, I hate you, 00:04:06.539 --> 00:04:09.740 but for tonight, I hate them more. Exactly. But 00:04:09.740 --> 00:04:12.800 looking at the source material, you can see where 00:04:12.800 --> 00:04:16.079 the cracks started to form. Why did they abandon 00:04:16.079 --> 00:04:18.220 that? So what happened? The talent imbalance. 00:04:18.819 --> 00:04:21.160 If you track the selections year over year and 00:04:21.160 --> 00:04:24.110 you look at, say, the... mid -2000s through the 00:04:24.110 --> 00:04:27.529 2010s, you just see these waves where the Western 00:04:27.529 --> 00:04:30.769 Conference became an absolute juggernaut. It 00:04:30.769 --> 00:04:33.449 became lopsided. Completely. You had years where 00:04:33.449 --> 00:04:36.990 the 10th best player in the West was objectively 00:04:36.990 --> 00:04:39.009 better than the 3rd or 4th best player in the 00:04:39.009 --> 00:04:41.370 East. So you were leaving legitimate superstars 00:04:41.370 --> 00:04:43.430 at home in the West while the East was kind of 00:04:43.430 --> 00:04:45.829 scraping the barrel to fill out a roster. Exactly. 00:04:46.839 --> 00:04:49.660 Frankly, it got a little stale. The tribalism 00:04:49.660 --> 00:04:51.920 died down as players started moving teams more 00:04:51.920 --> 00:04:54.839 often. Free agency changed the whole vibe, so 00:04:54.839 --> 00:04:56.860 the league started tinkering. And this is where 00:04:56.860 --> 00:04:58.519 it gets interesting, right? Specifically between 00:04:58.519 --> 00:05:02.079 2018 and 2023. Captain's era. I remember this 00:05:02.079 --> 00:05:03.579 so vividly. It felt like they were trying to 00:05:03.579 --> 00:05:05.959 turn the All -Star game into a pickup game at 00:05:05.959 --> 00:05:08.459 the local gym. That is the perfect way to describe 00:05:08.459 --> 00:05:10.939 it. The format, which is all detailed in the 00:05:10.939 --> 00:05:13.420 notes here, was that the top vote -getter from 00:05:13.420 --> 00:05:16.279 each conference was named a captain. Oh, okay. 00:05:16.480 --> 00:05:20.000 And then they televised a draft where those two 00:05:20.000 --> 00:05:23.019 captains picked their teams from the whole pool 00:05:23.019 --> 00:05:26.019 of all -stars, regardless of conference. Which, 00:05:26.139 --> 00:05:28.180 I have to admit, gave us some great television 00:05:28.180 --> 00:05:30.540 moments. Oh, absolutely. Watching Kevin Durant 00:05:30.540 --> 00:05:33.480 try not to pick James Harden or LeBron making 00:05:33.480 --> 00:05:35.759 jokes while drafting his friends, it was fun. 00:05:36.000 --> 00:05:39.100 But did it actually fix the game? The data suggests 00:05:39.100 --> 00:05:42.779 mixed results. It added personality, for sure. 00:05:43.370 --> 00:05:45.329 But it completely removed the structural stakes. 00:05:45.550 --> 00:05:47.829 There was no East Pride or West Pride anymore. 00:05:48.069 --> 00:05:50.089 It was just Team LeBron versus Team Giannis. 00:05:50.290 --> 00:05:53.069 Exactly. It was fun, but it felt ephemeral. It 00:05:53.069 --> 00:05:55.189 was an exhibition in the truest sense of the 00:05:55.189 --> 00:05:57.430 word. It felt like nobody really cared who won. 00:05:57.490 --> 00:05:59.009 They just wanted to see who got picked last. 00:05:59.329 --> 00:06:01.589 Yeah, it had a real Pro Bowl vibe to it. Precisely. 00:06:01.589 --> 00:06:03.970 And the league could sense that apathy setting 00:06:03.970 --> 00:06:07.870 in. So looking at the timeline, we hit 2025 just 00:06:07.870 --> 00:06:10.389 last year. And the source describes this as a 00:06:10.389 --> 00:06:13.390 transitional tournament. 2025 was weird. Weird 00:06:13.390 --> 00:06:16.629 is a very polite word for it. It was the throw 00:06:16.629 --> 00:06:19.230 spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks. What 00:06:19.230 --> 00:06:21.329 was the format again? I feel like I blocked it 00:06:21.329 --> 00:06:23.050 out. They tried a four -team tournament. You 00:06:23.050 --> 00:06:25.829 had three teams of actual all -stars, but then, 00:06:25.949 --> 00:06:28.810 and this is the part that still baffles me, they 00:06:28.810 --> 00:06:32.149 added a fourth team composed of the rising stars. 00:06:32.449 --> 00:06:35.850 Wait, wait, refresh my memory. This was... Rookies 00:06:35.850 --> 00:06:38.050 and sophomores. Rookies, sophomores, and even 00:06:38.050 --> 00:06:40.709 some G League standouts. So you technically had 00:06:40.709 --> 00:06:43.689 a format where an NBA all -star team, the 24 00:06:43.689 --> 00:06:46.069 best players on earth, could lose to a group 00:06:46.069 --> 00:06:48.449 of guys who weren't even fully established in 00:06:48.449 --> 00:06:50.470 the league yet. That sounds like a fever dream. 00:06:50.629 --> 00:06:52.949 Imagine if the rising stars had actually won. 00:06:53.250 --> 00:06:55.709 It would have completely delegitimized the whole 00:06:55.709 --> 00:06:57.810 all -star concept. Total chaos. That's a very 00:06:57.810 --> 00:07:00.009 strange experiment. But it brings us to the present 00:07:00.009 --> 00:07:03.959 day. The New World Order of 2026. The source 00:07:03.959 --> 00:07:06.860 explicitly describes this year's game as a tournament, 00:07:07.060 --> 00:07:09.720 but the team composition is the real headline. 00:07:09.899 --> 00:07:12.879 Two U .S. all -star teams versus one world all 00:07:12.879 --> 00:07:15.100 -star team. There it is. Let's pause on that. 00:07:15.459 --> 00:07:19.680 Two U .S. teams, one world team. That distinction 00:07:19.680 --> 00:07:21.920 is doing a lot of heavy lifting, isn't it? It's 00:07:21.920 --> 00:07:24.269 doing all the lifting. It implies that the international 00:07:24.269 --> 00:07:27.350 talent is so concentrated, so dominant, that 00:07:27.350 --> 00:07:29.930 they can field a single squad that rivals the 00:07:29.930 --> 00:07:32.990 combined might of the entire United States. And 00:07:32.990 --> 00:07:35.410 it's an acknowledgment of reality. When we get 00:07:35.410 --> 00:07:37.250 to the roster breakdown later, you'll see why. 00:07:37.410 --> 00:07:41.329 The top of that world roster, Jokic, Giannis, 00:07:41.410 --> 00:07:44.949 Luka, Wemby, these aren't just participants. 00:07:45.310 --> 00:07:47.730 No. They're the MVPs. They're the faces of the 00:07:47.730 --> 00:07:50.350 league. Grouping them by east and west was just 00:07:50.350 --> 00:07:52.649 diluting their impact. By putting them all on 00:07:52.649 --> 00:07:55.290 one team, the league essentially created a dream 00:07:55.290 --> 00:07:57.569 team of international talent. And it creates 00:07:57.569 --> 00:08:00.170 a narrative that Team LeBron never could. It's 00:08:00.170 --> 00:08:02.410 national pride. It's the Ryder Cup of basketball. 00:08:02.610 --> 00:08:04.850 And it forces the U .S. players to care because 00:08:04.850 --> 00:08:06.829 nobody wants to be on the American team that 00:08:06.829 --> 00:08:08.410 gets blown out by the world team on American 00:08:08.410 --> 00:08:10.910 soil. It taps into a completely different kind 00:08:10.910 --> 00:08:13.290 of competitiveness. OK, so that's the stage. 00:08:13.550 --> 00:08:17.649 We've moved from geography to a playground draft 00:08:17.649 --> 00:08:21.430 to this new global showdown. But I want to peel 00:08:21.430 --> 00:08:23.389 back the curtain a little bit more. We see the 00:08:23.389 --> 00:08:26.750 names on the list, the 466. But how does the 00:08:26.750 --> 00:08:29.050 sausage actually get made? The voting ecosystem. 00:08:29.430 --> 00:08:31.629 Right. Because I think a lot of fans, you know, 00:08:31.629 --> 00:08:34.330 they assume it's just a popularity contest. They 00:08:34.330 --> 00:08:36.710 think, oh, whoever has the most Instagram followers 00:08:36.710 --> 00:08:39.870 gets to start the game. Is that true? It's a 00:08:39.870 --> 00:08:41.570 piece of the truth, but it's not the whole truth. 00:08:42.190 --> 00:08:44.750 The lead realized a long time ago that if you 00:08:44.750 --> 00:08:47.990 leave it 100 percent to the fans, you get some, 00:08:48.029 --> 00:08:50.990 let's say, eccentric results. Right. You get 00:08:50.990 --> 00:08:53.029 role players starting because an entire country 00:08:53.029 --> 00:08:55.009 decided to vote for them for a month. The Zaza 00:08:55.009 --> 00:08:57.409 Pachulia effect. Exactly. Or the Yao Ming rookie 00:08:57.409 --> 00:09:00.110 year effect where he started over a prime shack 00:09:00.110 --> 00:09:03.039 because of the massive vote from China. So to 00:09:03.039 --> 00:09:05.519 maintain the integrity of this lift so that when 00:09:05.519 --> 00:09:07.899 we look back in 50 years, it actually reflects 00:09:07.899 --> 00:09:10.379 the best players they put in a weighted system 00:09:10.379 --> 00:09:12.559 for the starters. Correct. Walk me through the 00:09:12.559 --> 00:09:15.080 math on that. How do I become a starter? Okay. 00:09:15.120 --> 00:09:18.080 So for the five starters from each squad, the 00:09:18.080 --> 00:09:20.679 fan vote accounts for 50%. That's the popularity 00:09:20.679 --> 00:09:22.419 baseline that gets you in the conversation. Yeah. 00:09:22.879 --> 00:09:27.620 But the other 50 % is split evenly. 25 % goes 00:09:27.620 --> 00:09:31.120 to the media and 25 % goes to the current players. 00:09:31.769 --> 00:09:34.009 I have always found the player vote to be the 00:09:34.009 --> 00:09:36.230 most fascinating part of this whole process. 00:09:36.450 --> 00:09:38.070 Why do you think that is? Because the players 00:09:38.070 --> 00:09:40.889 know. You can fool the fans with a highlight 00:09:40.889 --> 00:09:43.190 reel. You can maybe even charm the media with 00:09:43.190 --> 00:09:45.730 a couple of good interviews. But you cannot fool 00:09:45.730 --> 00:09:47.690 the guy who has to guard you on a Tuesday night 00:09:47.690 --> 00:09:49.750 in Milwaukee. That's a great point. If the players 00:09:49.750 --> 00:09:52.190 don't respect your game, they are not going to 00:09:52.190 --> 00:09:55.389 vote for you. Period. It serves as a fantastic... 00:09:55.549 --> 00:09:57.750 check and balance. We've seen it happen where 00:09:57.750 --> 00:10:00.169 a player is number one in the fan vote by a mile, 00:10:00.250 --> 00:10:02.750 but the players rank him fifth or sixth. And 00:10:02.750 --> 00:10:05.210 that drops him out of the starting lineup. Exactly. 00:10:05.269 --> 00:10:07.610 It keeps the list meritocratic. It essentially 00:10:07.610 --> 00:10:10.710 prevents memes from becoming all -star starters. 00:10:10.789 --> 00:10:13.309 Okay, so that gets us the 10 starters. But an 00:10:13.309 --> 00:10:16.470 all -star team is 12 guys deep. Who picks the 00:10:16.470 --> 00:10:19.590 bench? The reserves. The reserves are a completely 00:10:19.590 --> 00:10:21.720 different animal. This is where the democracy 00:10:21.720 --> 00:10:24.700 ends and the technocracy begins. The reserves 00:10:24.700 --> 00:10:26.820 are chosen by the 30 head coaches in the league. 00:10:27.000 --> 00:10:29.159 And I'm assuming there are some guardrails there. 00:10:29.259 --> 00:10:31.159 A coach can't just vote for his own point guard 00:10:31.159 --> 00:10:33.720 to help him hit a contract incentive, right? 00:10:33.740 --> 00:10:35.960 It's explicitly forbidden. Yeah. Coaches cannot 00:10:35.960 --> 00:10:38.519 vote for their own players. They have to vote 00:10:38.519 --> 00:10:40.779 for the opposition. And how does that work? Do 00:10:40.779 --> 00:10:43.360 they just pick seven guys they like? It's structured. 00:10:43.559 --> 00:10:46.159 They select two guards, three front court players, 00:10:46.279 --> 00:10:48.779 and then two wild cards who can be from any position. 00:10:49.210 --> 00:10:51.370 And they're not just writing names on a napkin, 00:10:51.370 --> 00:10:54.110 right? It's not a total free -for -all. No, and 00:10:54.110 --> 00:10:56.370 this is a crucial detail that often gets overlooked. 00:10:56.690 --> 00:11:00.990 There's a pool. A panel of media experts compiles 00:11:00.990 --> 00:11:04.509 a ballot of roughly 120 players, 60 from each 00:11:04.509 --> 00:11:07.370 conference. If you aren't in that pool, the coaches 00:11:07.370 --> 00:11:09.450 can't select you. So there's a vetting process 00:11:09.450 --> 00:11:11.990 before the vetting process even starts. Correct. 00:11:12.330 --> 00:11:14.509 But even with all these systems, the weighted 00:11:14.509 --> 00:11:16.690 percentages, the coaches' ballots, the pools, 00:11:16.929 --> 00:11:20.210 there is one variable that chaos introduces every 00:11:20.210 --> 00:11:23.789 single year. And looking at the 2026 data, this 00:11:23.789 --> 00:11:26.169 variable played a huge role. You're talking about 00:11:26.169 --> 00:11:29.129 injuries? The replacement variable. Because here's 00:11:29.129 --> 00:11:31.570 the thing about the record books. The list tracks 00:11:31.570 --> 00:11:34.399 selections. It doesn't necessarily track participation. 00:11:34.720 --> 00:11:36.740 Right, right. Because if I get voted in as a 00:11:36.740 --> 00:11:38.860 starter, but I pull my hamstring the week before 00:11:38.860 --> 00:11:40.580 the game, I'm still an all -star in the history 00:11:40.580 --> 00:11:43.559 books. You absolutely are. But your spot on the 00:11:43.559 --> 00:11:46.259 court is empty. So the NBA commissioner steps 00:11:46.259 --> 00:11:50.220 in, and he has the unilateral power to name a 00:11:50.220 --> 00:11:53.000 replacement for that injured player. That is 00:11:53.000 --> 00:11:55.580 a lot of power for one person. He basically gets 00:11:55.580 --> 00:11:57.700 to decide someone's legacy with a phone call. 00:11:57.799 --> 00:12:00.200 It is. And when you look at the 2026 list specifically, 00:12:00.460 --> 00:12:02.799 you see a lot of asterisks, a lot of little notes 00:12:02.799 --> 00:12:05.360 in the margin saying replacement selection. And 00:12:05.360 --> 00:12:07.539 we should clarify for the listener, does a replacement 00:12:07.539 --> 00:12:10.490 selection count less? When we look at that 466 00:12:10.490 --> 00:12:13.590 number, is there a separate list for real all 00:12:13.590 --> 00:12:16.370 -stars and replacement all -stars? Not at all. 00:12:16.409 --> 00:12:19.190 A selection is a selection. Whether you were 00:12:19.190 --> 00:12:21.409 the leading vote -getter in the entire world 00:12:21.409 --> 00:12:24.230 or the last guy called by the commissioner on 00:12:24.230 --> 00:12:26.549 Friday morning because someone rolled an ankle. 00:12:27.100 --> 00:12:29.539 It counts exactly the same on your resume. It's 00:12:29.539 --> 00:12:31.379 the foot in the door theory. Just get in the 00:12:31.379 --> 00:12:33.620 room. Exactly. And as we'll see later, some of 00:12:33.620 --> 00:12:35.740 the biggest names in the game today started their 00:12:35.740 --> 00:12:38.720 all -star careers as replacements. Okay, so we 00:12:38.720 --> 00:12:41.240 have the stage, this new world tournament. We 00:12:41.240 --> 00:12:43.980 have the mechanism, this complex mix of fans, 00:12:44.179 --> 00:12:46.840 players, coaches, and the commissioner. But now 00:12:46.840 --> 00:12:48.639 we have to talk about the players themselves. 00:12:48.980 --> 00:12:50.799 Right. And if we're talking about this list, 00:12:51.139 --> 00:12:54.830 there's one name that just... dominates the data 00:12:54.830 --> 00:12:57.230 so thoroughly it almost looks like a typo? The 00:12:57.230 --> 00:13:00.610 king. We have to talk about LeBron James because 00:13:00.610 --> 00:13:04.009 looking at this 2026 entry for him, I mean, are 00:13:04.009 --> 00:13:06.250 we sure this is real? I double -checked the source 00:13:06.250 --> 00:13:08.409 three times. It's real. Okay, give me the rundown. 00:13:08.450 --> 00:13:11.990 Where does he stand as of February 2026? He stands 00:13:11.990 --> 00:13:14.830 alone. He holds the record for practically every 00:13:14.830 --> 00:13:17.970 longevity metric the league tracks. First, let's 00:13:17.970 --> 00:13:21.049 start with total selections. He now has 22. 22. 00:13:21.649 --> 00:13:24.519 22. Let's just contextualize that. That is more 00:13:24.519 --> 00:13:26.759 than two decades of being one of the best players 00:13:26.759 --> 00:13:28.960 in the world. Think about it this way. There 00:13:28.960 --> 00:13:31.559 are players in the league right now, rookies, 00:13:31.600 --> 00:13:35.240 who were barely born when LeBron made his 10th 00:13:35.240 --> 00:13:38.120 All -Star game. That's insane. He has been an 00:13:38.120 --> 00:13:40.580 All -Star for the entire lives of some of his 00:13:40.580 --> 00:13:43.019 current teammates. It's absurd. It feels like 00:13:43.019 --> 00:13:45.980 he's a geological era of the NBA, not a player. 00:13:46.200 --> 00:13:49.200 Second stat. Consecutive selections. Also 22. 00:13:49.690 --> 00:13:52.049 He has never missed a year since his first selection 00:13:52.049 --> 00:13:54.970 way back in 2005. That's the one that gets me, 00:13:55.029 --> 00:13:57.950 the consistency. Most guys, even the absolute 00:13:57.950 --> 00:13:59.870 legends, they have a down year. They get hurt, 00:13:59.950 --> 00:14:01.970 they get old, and they miss a year. LeBron just 00:14:01.970 --> 00:14:04.830 doesn't. He just doesn't. And the third record, 00:14:04.929 --> 00:14:07.490 which might be the most impressive from a physical 00:14:07.490 --> 00:14:09.990 standpoint, most games played, he has now appeared 00:14:09.990 --> 00:14:12.590 in 20 All -Star games. Wait, hold on. Catch me 00:14:12.590 --> 00:14:15.110 up on the math there. 22 selections, but only 00:14:15.110 --> 00:14:17.789 20 games played. Right. So the source notes that 00:14:17.789 --> 00:14:20.940 he missed the 2025 game. just last year, and 00:14:20.940 --> 00:14:22.879 one other one prior to that, likely for injury 00:14:22.879 --> 00:14:25.759 management or rest. But 20 games played is still 00:14:25.759 --> 00:14:28.080 the record by a comfortable margin. So who's 00:14:28.080 --> 00:14:30.299 even in the rearview mirror at this point? Is 00:14:30.299 --> 00:14:32.879 anyone even close to these numbers? The gap is 00:14:32.879 --> 00:14:36.360 just widening every year. For decades, Kareem 00:14:36.360 --> 00:14:39.320 Abdul -Jabbar was the gold standard. He finished 00:14:39.320 --> 00:14:42.120 with 19 selections. Okay, so LeBron is plus three 00:14:42.120 --> 00:14:44.759 on Kareem. He's plus three on Kareem. Then you 00:14:44.759 --> 00:14:47.490 have Kobe Bryant. Kobe. Kobe finished with 18. 00:14:47.629 --> 00:14:49.769 And remember, Kobe had that incredible streak 00:14:49.769 --> 00:14:52.549 of 17 consecutive selections. We all thought 00:14:52.549 --> 00:14:55.129 that would never be touched. Yeah. LeBron blew 00:14:55.129 --> 00:14:57.289 past that five years ago. It really puts him 00:14:57.289 --> 00:15:00.009 in a category all by himself. It does. And then 00:15:00.009 --> 00:15:03.049 you drop down to what you could call the 15 club. 00:15:03.429 --> 00:15:06.269 This is where you find Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, 00:15:06.350 --> 00:15:09.009 Shaquille O 'Neal. Titans of the sport. Absolute 00:15:09.009 --> 00:15:11.669 legends. No doubt. But there are seven selections 00:15:11.669 --> 00:15:14.279 behind LeBron. That is an entire Hall of Fame 00:15:14.279 --> 00:15:16.100 career worth of difference between them. You 00:15:16.100 --> 00:15:18.159 know, speaking of Tim Duncan, I saw a little 00:15:18.159 --> 00:15:20.519 note in the source material that felt so perfectly 00:15:20.519 --> 00:15:23.059 on brand for him. The perfect attendance record. 00:15:23.220 --> 00:15:25.779 Yes. Break that one down for me. So Tim Duncan, 00:15:25.919 --> 00:15:29.679 as we said, 15 selections. And the record shows 00:15:29.679 --> 00:15:32.179 he played in every single game he was selected 00:15:32.179 --> 00:15:36.659 for with one major asterisk. Let me guess. The 00:15:36.659 --> 00:15:40.389 lockout year. The 1999 lockout year. The league 00:15:40.389 --> 00:15:42.610 canceled the All -Star game entirely due to the 00:15:42.610 --> 00:15:45.649 labor stoppage. No game was played. But if you 00:15:45.649 --> 00:15:48.169 exclude that one year, which was completely out 00:15:48.169 --> 00:15:51.169 of his control, Duncan never missed a game. That 00:15:51.169 --> 00:15:53.610 is the most Tim Duncan stat I have ever knew 00:15:53.610 --> 00:15:55.389 in my life. Right. He never sat out for rest. 00:15:55.570 --> 00:15:57.929 He never had a minor injury keep him home. If 00:15:57.929 --> 00:15:59.970 he was picked, he showed up and played. Just 00:15:59.970 --> 00:16:02.129 reliability personified. He just punches the 00:16:02.129 --> 00:16:04.409 clock. Unbelievable. But going back to LeBron. 00:16:05.000 --> 00:16:06.960 There's one more dimension to this record that 00:16:06.960 --> 00:16:09.919 I think is the most startling. It's the age factor. 00:16:10.000 --> 00:16:12.559 The SourceTracks players who were selected after 00:16:12.559 --> 00:16:15.019 turning 40 years old. Ooh, I imagine that's a 00:16:15.019 --> 00:16:17.360 very, very short list. Most guys are coaching 00:16:17.360 --> 00:16:20.139 or golfing by the time they hit 40. It is a tiny 00:16:20.139 --> 00:16:23.179 club, three names in the entire history of the 00:16:23.179 --> 00:16:26.100 NBA. Wow, who are they? Kareem Abdul -Jabbar, 00:16:26.259 --> 00:16:29.899 Dirk Nowitzki, and LeBron James. That is the 00:16:29.899 --> 00:16:32.659 entire list. And here's the kicker. Of those 00:16:32.659 --> 00:16:35.620 three... Only Kareem and LeBron have earned multiple 00:16:35.620 --> 00:16:38.059 selections after turning 40. So Dirk was just 00:16:38.059 --> 00:16:40.860 one time. One time. And it was largely a ceremonial 00:16:40.860 --> 00:16:43.440 nod in his final season. I believe it was a commissioner 00:16:43.440 --> 00:16:46.460 special edition, actually. But LeBron and Kareem, 00:16:46.460 --> 00:16:48.220 they were still out there producing. They were 00:16:48.220 --> 00:16:51.120 still essential pieces of the league structure. 00:16:51.360 --> 00:16:54.320 It forces us to just completely rethink what 00:16:54.320 --> 00:16:56.659 a player's prime is. I used to say a player peaked 00:16:56.659 --> 00:16:59.840 at 28 and was done by 34. LeBron has stretched 00:16:59.840 --> 00:17:03.029 that timeline by a full decade. He has absolutely 00:17:03.029 --> 00:17:05.329 normalized the extraordinary. But, and this is 00:17:05.329 --> 00:17:07.250 interesting, there's a flip side to this coin. 00:17:07.410 --> 00:17:10.829 Okay, what's that? If the old guys, LeBron, KD, 00:17:11.009 --> 00:17:14.289 Curry, are staying around forever, occupying 00:17:14.289 --> 00:17:16.569 these roster spots well into their late 30s and 00:17:16.569 --> 00:17:19.109 even early 40s, what's happening to the young 00:17:19.109 --> 00:17:21.710 guys? That is a great question. We always hear 00:17:21.710 --> 00:17:24.410 the future is now. But if the kings aren't leaving 00:17:24.410 --> 00:17:26.470 the throne, can the princes actually get in the 00:17:26.470 --> 00:17:28.829 room? Exactly. I looked at the Ricky data in 00:17:28.829 --> 00:17:31.960 this source, and honestly... It is shocking. 00:17:32.119 --> 00:17:34.519 Lay it on me. We have this perception that the 00:17:34.519 --> 00:17:37.359 NBA is a young man's league, right? We see the 00:17:37.359 --> 00:17:39.759 draft hype, the highlight reels on social media. 00:17:39.859 --> 00:17:42.380 We assume rookies are just taking over. Right. 00:17:42.440 --> 00:17:44.720 I feel like every year there's a rookie of the 00:17:44.720 --> 00:17:46.420 year who feels like they should be an all -star. 00:17:46.759 --> 00:17:49.859 Feels like one? Maybe. But are they actually 00:17:49.859 --> 00:17:52.599 selected? Yeah. The history says a definitive 00:17:52.599 --> 00:17:55.619 no. In the entire history of the NBA going all 00:17:55.619 --> 00:17:59.990 the way back to 1951. Only 45 rookies have ever 00:17:59.990 --> 00:18:02.589 been named All -Stars. Okay, 45, that's, you 00:18:02.589 --> 00:18:04.829 know, almost one a year on average. It doesn't 00:18:04.829 --> 00:18:07.450 sound too bad. On average, yes, but you have 00:18:07.450 --> 00:18:09.650 to look at the breakdown. The source highlights 00:18:09.650 --> 00:18:12.670 the draft lottery era. So everything since 1985. 00:18:13.210 --> 00:18:16.029 Since 1985, the number of rookies selected has 00:18:16.029 --> 00:18:19.109 just fallen off a cliff. How many since 85? Only 00:18:19.109 --> 00:18:22.750 eight. Eight in 40 years. It has become incredibly, 00:18:22.750 --> 00:18:25.890 incredibly rare. The 1985 game was the last time 00:18:25.890 --> 00:18:28.529 we saw two rookies in the same game. Michael 00:18:28.529 --> 00:18:30.990 Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon. Since then, it's 00:18:30.990 --> 00:18:32.950 been a complete drought. So who is the last one? 00:18:33.009 --> 00:18:34.630 Who is the last rookie to actually make the team? 00:18:34.849 --> 00:18:36.670 You might want to sit down for this. The source 00:18:36.670 --> 00:18:40.670 list, Blake Griffin in 2011 as the most recent 00:18:40.670 --> 00:18:43.730 rookie to be named an All -Star. No, Blake Griffin 00:18:43.730 --> 00:18:47.490 in 2011. That was 15 years ago. Exactly. As of 00:18:47.490 --> 00:18:50.539 this 2026 list. We have gone a decade and a half 00:18:50.539 --> 00:18:53.319 without a true rookie all -star. That is mind 00:18:53.319 --> 00:18:55.799 -blowing. I would have bet money that Luka or 00:18:55.799 --> 00:18:58.339 Wemby made it their rookie year. They were that 00:18:58.339 --> 00:19:01.799 good. They were phenomenal. But Luka Donicic 00:19:01.799 --> 00:19:04.700 made it in 2020, his second year. Victor Wemba 00:19:04.700 --> 00:19:07.720 Nyama made it in 2025, his second year. They 00:19:07.720 --> 00:19:10.200 were close. They were generational talents. But 00:19:10.200 --> 00:19:11.819 they didn't crack the list as rookies. And what 00:19:11.819 --> 00:19:13.880 about starting? Is that even rarer? Oh, much 00:19:13.880 --> 00:19:16.380 rarer. The last rookie to actually start an all 00:19:16.380 --> 00:19:19.529 -star game was Yao Ming. way back in 2003. Wow. 00:19:19.650 --> 00:19:21.910 So the rookie all -star is basically an endangered 00:19:21.910 --> 00:19:23.970 species at this point. Why do you think that 00:19:23.970 --> 00:19:25.769 is? Is it just that the veterans are too good 00:19:25.769 --> 00:19:27.930 and they're hogging the spots? I think it's a 00:19:27.930 --> 00:19:30.309 combination of a few things. One, yes, the overall 00:19:30.309 --> 00:19:32.650 talent level of the league is so incredibly high 00:19:32.650 --> 00:19:35.450 that a 19 -year -old, no matter how gifted, usually 00:19:35.450 --> 00:19:37.769 has holes in their game that a 28 -year -old 00:19:37.769 --> 00:19:39.930 veteran has already patched up. Right. And two... 00:19:40.329 --> 00:19:43.269 The coaches who pick the reserves, they tend 00:19:43.269 --> 00:19:45.450 to be conservative. They value winning impact 00:19:45.450 --> 00:19:48.250 over raw potential. They'd rather reward the 00:19:48.250 --> 00:19:50.630 guy who's been grinding for six years on a good 00:19:50.630 --> 00:19:53.609 team than the shiny new toy on a bad team. That 00:19:53.609 --> 00:19:55.970 makes a lot of sense. The veteran wall is very 00:19:55.970 --> 00:19:58.009 real. But on the other end of that spectrum, 00:19:58.150 --> 00:20:00.630 you have the guys who bloomed late. The late 00:20:00.630 --> 00:20:03.210 bloomers. I love these stories. Me too. Who had 00:20:03.210 --> 00:20:05.009 to wait the longest to finally get their name 00:20:05.009 --> 00:20:07.390 on this list? The record holder is a great piece 00:20:07.390 --> 00:20:10.430 of NBA history. A guy named Nathaniel Sweetwater 00:20:10.430 --> 00:20:13.650 Clifton. Sweetwater Clifton. In 1957, he became 00:20:13.650 --> 00:20:15.390 the oldest player to make a debut selection. 00:20:15.730 --> 00:20:19.089 He was 34 years and three months old. 34. That's 00:20:19.089 --> 00:20:20.569 usually when guys are thinking about retiring. 00:20:20.950 --> 00:20:23.210 Exactly. It speaks to an incredible level of 00:20:23.210 --> 00:20:25.890 perseverance. And in the modern era, it's just 00:20:25.890 --> 00:20:28.170 as rare. The only other players to make their 00:20:28.170 --> 00:20:31.410 debut at 34 or older are Sam Cassell in 2004 00:20:31.410 --> 00:20:35.880 and Anthony Mason in 2001. Sam Cassell. The absolute 00:20:35.880 --> 00:20:38.099 master of the mid -range game. I remember that 00:20:38.099 --> 00:20:40.380 season. He was incredible. And Anthony Mason, 00:20:40.519 --> 00:20:42.700 the ultimate enforcer. These guys weren't the 00:20:42.700 --> 00:20:45.880 chosen ones at 19. They work, they refine their 00:20:45.880 --> 00:20:48.279 game, and eventually the league just had to recognize 00:20:48.279 --> 00:20:51.039 them. It's the aha moment. It reminds you that 00:20:51.039 --> 00:20:52.980 development isn't linear. You can have your best 00:20:52.980 --> 00:20:56.180 year at 34. Precisely. The All -Star Game isn't 00:20:56.180 --> 00:20:58.740 just for the phenoms. It also rewards survival 00:20:58.740 --> 00:21:01.509 and improvement. Speaking of improvement. We 00:21:01.509 --> 00:21:03.650 need to talk about the group that has improved 00:21:03.650 --> 00:21:06.369 the most over the last decade. The group that 00:21:06.369 --> 00:21:09.250 basically forced the NBA to change its entire 00:21:09.250 --> 00:21:12.950 format in 2026. The international contingent. 00:21:12.950 --> 00:21:15.809 Let's talk about the class of 2026 and the world 00:21:15.809 --> 00:21:18.250 takeover. This is where the rubber really meets 00:21:18.250 --> 00:21:21.609 the road. We mentioned earlier that 2026 introduced 00:21:21.609 --> 00:21:24.829 this world team tournament format. And when you 00:21:24.829 --> 00:21:26.710 look at the names provided in the source, you 00:21:26.710 --> 00:21:28.650 realize this wasn't a marketing decision. It 00:21:28.650 --> 00:21:31.160 was a competitive necessity. The talent at the 00:21:31.160 --> 00:21:33.480 top of that world roster is just staggering. 00:21:33.700 --> 00:21:35.319 These aren't just all -stars. These are the best 00:21:35.319 --> 00:21:37.359 players in the world, period. Look at the list. 00:21:37.500 --> 00:21:41.140 You start with Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Greek 00:21:41.140 --> 00:21:45.200 freak. He's up to 10 selections now, from 2017 00:21:45.200 --> 00:21:48.359 straight through to 2026. He's been a staple 00:21:48.359 --> 00:21:51.359 for a decade. He's essentially the LeBron of 00:21:51.359 --> 00:21:54.079 the world team in terms of his consistency. Then 00:21:54.079 --> 00:21:56.960 you have Nikola Jokic. The Joker. Eight selections 00:21:56.960 --> 00:22:00.819 consecutively from 2019 to 2026. His consistency 00:22:00.819 --> 00:22:03.819 is just robotic. He makes being a top five player 00:22:03.819 --> 00:22:06.799 look so easy. And Luka Doncic? Six selections. 00:22:06.940 --> 00:22:09.960 He started in 2020 and has been an absolute lock 00:22:09.960 --> 00:22:12.420 ever since. And what about the younger wave coming 00:22:12.420 --> 00:22:15.119 up behind them? Shy Gilgis Alexander. He's already 00:22:15.119 --> 00:22:18.500 up to four selections from 2023 to 2026. And 00:22:18.500 --> 00:22:20.839 of course, the alien himself. Victor Wim Banyama. 00:22:20.900 --> 00:22:23.539 He already has two selections, 2025 and 2026. 00:22:23.799 --> 00:22:26.259 He is just getting started. It's terrifying. 00:22:26.660 --> 00:22:28.960 That is a starting five Giannis Jokic, Luka, 00:22:29.099 --> 00:22:31.559 Shai Wemby that could beat any team in history, 00:22:31.700 --> 00:22:33.759 arguably. If you put that five against the 1992 00:22:33.759 --> 00:22:37.000 Dream Team, it's a game. It is a terrifying lineup. 00:22:37.380 --> 00:22:39.640 And the source even notes some interesting nuances 00:22:39.640 --> 00:22:42.079 about nationalities over the years, like Kyrie 00:22:42.079 --> 00:22:43.859 Irving, born in Australia, but he plays for Team 00:22:43.859 --> 00:22:46.299 USA. Or the history of guys like Steve Nash, 00:22:46.539 --> 00:22:48.980 born in South Africa but raised in Canada, or 00:22:48.980 --> 00:22:53.240 Luol Deng. But in 2026, the sheer density of 00:22:53.240 --> 00:22:56.420 top -tier talent designated as world is what 00:22:56.420 --> 00:22:59.359 forced this format change. It's not a gimmick 00:22:59.359 --> 00:23:01.539 anymore. It is a necessity for a competitive 00:23:01.539 --> 00:23:03.539 balance. But I want to look at the fresh blood. 00:23:03.680 --> 00:23:06.779 The source lists the 2026 class specifically. 00:23:06.880 --> 00:23:09.480 Who are the guys who got their very first taste 00:23:09.480 --> 00:23:11.470 this year? There's a really interesting crop 00:23:11.470 --> 00:23:15.170 of first timers in 2026, and it shows that perfect 00:23:15.170 --> 00:23:18.910 mix of young phenomenons and guys who finally 00:23:18.910 --> 00:23:21.450 figured it out. OK, hit me with the list. First 00:23:21.450 --> 00:23:24.089 up, you have Chet Holmgren. Chet, finally. One 00:23:24.089 --> 00:23:26.589 selection, 2026. He's been battling Wemby for 00:23:26.589 --> 00:23:29.109 that spotlight, and he absolutely earned his 00:23:29.109 --> 00:23:30.970 spot. He feels like he's been on the verge for 00:23:30.970 --> 00:23:33.190 a couple of years. Good for him. Then Jalen Duren. 00:23:33.390 --> 00:23:35.490 The big man, love of his game. One selection, 00:23:35.750 --> 00:23:39.059 2026. He brings that physical, old -school dominance. 00:23:39.319 --> 00:23:41.279 It's nice to see a traditional big man getting 00:23:41.279 --> 00:23:44.220 some love. Who else? Jalen Johnson. One selection. 00:23:44.680 --> 00:23:47.420 2026. His versatility has been incredible to 00:23:47.420 --> 00:23:50.460 watch this season. And the MDA. Denia. That's 00:23:50.460 --> 00:23:53.380 a great breakout story. One selection. 2026. 00:23:53.519 --> 00:23:56.160 Another big feather in the cap for international 00:23:56.160 --> 00:23:58.220 development. And you mentioned there was a veteran 00:23:58.220 --> 00:24:00.980 who finally broke through. Norman Powell. That's 00:24:00.980 --> 00:24:03.000 my favorite one on this list. One selection. 00:24:03.799 --> 00:24:07.420 2026. A classic grinded out career. He's been 00:24:07.420 --> 00:24:10.240 a scorer off the bench, a starter, a trade piece. 00:24:10.960 --> 00:24:14.500 He's done it all. And finally, in 2026, he's 00:24:14.500 --> 00:24:16.779 an all -star. It gives hope to every single role 00:24:16.779 --> 00:24:18.759 player out there. Just keep getting buckets. 00:24:19.240 --> 00:24:21.900 And there is one more name that is crucial to 00:24:21.900 --> 00:24:27.220 the 2026 narrative. Alperin Schengen. Ah, the 00:24:27.220 --> 00:24:29.940 Turkish wizard. The source notes he has two selections 00:24:29.940 --> 00:24:34.220 now, 2025 and 2026. But for the 2026 game, he 00:24:34.220 --> 00:24:36.160 was actually a replacement selection. Oh, interesting. 00:24:36.319 --> 00:24:39.059 Who did he replace? He replaced Shai Gilgis Alexander. 00:24:39.500 --> 00:24:42.119 Ah, and that leads us perfectly into the what 00:24:42.119 --> 00:24:44.539 ifs. Because we look at this list and we see 00:24:44.539 --> 00:24:46.779 all the names, but the list also tells us who 00:24:46.779 --> 00:24:48.700 didn't play. This is where the record book gets 00:24:48.700 --> 00:24:50.859 a little bittersweet. We often remember the game 00:24:50.859 --> 00:24:52.940 itself, the dunks, the MVP. But the official 00:24:52.940 --> 00:24:56.019 list meticulously records who was selected but 00:24:56.019 --> 00:24:58.019 couldn't participate because of an injury. And 00:24:58.019 --> 00:25:01.640 2026 was a rough year for that. It was a brutal 00:25:01.640 --> 00:25:04.500 year for the top -tier guards and forwards. We 00:25:04.500 --> 00:25:06.420 just mentioned Shai Gilgis -Alexander missed 00:25:06.420 --> 00:25:10.059 the 2026 game. But look at this. Giannis Antetokounmpo 00:25:10.059 --> 00:25:13.500 also missed the 2026 game. No, Giannis, in the 00:25:13.500 --> 00:25:16.200 first -ever world tournament. That's a huge blow. 00:25:16.420 --> 00:25:19.309 A huge blow. He's listed as a selection. But 00:25:19.309 --> 00:25:22.670 the note says, missed 2026 game. And perhaps 00:25:22.670 --> 00:25:25.470 the biggest name missing from the court, Stephen 00:25:25.470 --> 00:25:27.890 Curry. Steph missed it too. 12 selections total 00:25:27.890 --> 00:25:30.710 for his career. But the note clearly says, missed 00:25:30.710 --> 00:25:35.220 2023 and 2026 games. Wow. That is a lot of star 00:25:35.220 --> 00:25:37.599 power in street clothes. It really changes the 00:25:37.599 --> 00:25:39.579 entire dynamic of the weekend when the faces 00:25:39.579 --> 00:25:41.599 of the league are on the sideline in suits. It 00:25:41.599 --> 00:25:43.720 absolutely does. And it raises that important 00:25:43.720 --> 00:25:45.819 question about the replacement variable we discussed 00:25:45.819 --> 00:25:48.759 earlier. When Stafford Giannis has to sit, someone 00:25:48.759 --> 00:25:51.140 else gets that all -star designation added to 00:25:51.140 --> 00:25:53.400 their resume forever. It's the sliding doors 00:25:53.400 --> 00:25:56.740 moments of the NBA. One man's twisted ankle is 00:25:56.740 --> 00:25:58.920 another man's contract bonus. Historically, it's 00:25:58.920 --> 00:26:01.339 massive. Think about Michael Jordan. The Joe. 00:26:01.880 --> 00:26:06.049 14 selections. But he missed the 1986 game because 00:26:06.049 --> 00:26:08.849 of that broken foot early in his career. That's 00:26:08.849 --> 00:26:11.509 a game played he never got back. And we mentioned 00:26:11.509 --> 00:26:14.710 the 1999 lockout. Right. The only year with no 00:26:14.710 --> 00:26:17.789 game. So you have guys from that era like Karl 00:26:17.789 --> 00:26:21.170 Malone or Gary Payton whose selections count 00:26:21.170 --> 00:26:24.670 is one higher than their games played count purely 00:26:24.670 --> 00:26:26.910 because of labor negotiations. It's fascinating 00:26:26.910 --> 00:26:29.630 how politics and injuries carve out the history 00:26:29.630 --> 00:26:32.009 just as much as the jump shots do. Absolutely. 00:26:32.559 --> 00:26:34.380 And you see it with the replacements, who then 00:26:34.380 --> 00:26:36.740 become stars in their own right. The source mentions 00:26:36.740 --> 00:26:39.099 Anthony Edwards. He was a replacement selection 00:26:39.099 --> 00:26:41.220 back in 2023. He got in through the back door. 00:26:41.420 --> 00:26:44.759 But by 2026, he's the MVP of the game. Talk about 00:26:44.759 --> 00:26:46.539 seizing the opportunity. He went from just happy 00:26:46.539 --> 00:26:48.759 to be here to completely owning the building. 00:26:48.839 --> 00:26:51.359 Exactly. De 'Aaron Fox is another one. The source 00:26:51.359 --> 00:26:54.019 says he was a replacement in 2023 and a replacement 00:26:54.019 --> 00:26:57.480 again in 2026. These guys are right on that fringe, 00:26:57.599 --> 00:26:59.380 and they keep getting the call when spots open 00:26:59.380 --> 00:27:01.619 up. It counts just the same in the history books. 00:27:02.000 --> 00:27:04.859 So we have covered the New World Order, the uncatchable 00:27:04.859 --> 00:27:07.359 LeBron, the vanishing rookies, and the injury 00:27:07.359 --> 00:27:10.299 asterisks. When you step back and look at this 00:27:10.299 --> 00:27:14.460 entire list of 466 names, what is the big takeaway 00:27:14.460 --> 00:27:18.460 for you from this 2026 snapshot? For me, it is 00:27:18.460 --> 00:27:21.019 the undeniable passing of the torch. We spent 00:27:21.019 --> 00:27:23.859 two decades analyzing the LeBron era, and he's 00:27:23.859 --> 00:27:25.819 still here, which is a miracle in itself. Right. 00:27:25.859 --> 00:27:28.259 But when you look at the 2026 roster, Wemby, 00:27:28.400 --> 00:27:33.069 Chet, Shy, Luka. Jokic and the format shift to 00:27:33.069 --> 00:27:36.329 world, it feels like we have officially and finally 00:27:36.329 --> 00:27:39.450 entered a global era. The list isn't just a record 00:27:39.450 --> 00:27:42.049 of American stars anymore. It's a global registry 00:27:42.049 --> 00:27:44.089 of basketball excellence. It really does feel 00:27:44.089 --> 00:27:46.130 that way. The boundaries are gone. And hey, here's 00:27:46.130 --> 00:27:47.549 my final thought for you. We spent this whole 00:27:47.549 --> 00:27:49.650 time looking at the past, but looking at this 00:27:49.650 --> 00:27:52.630 2026 list, seeing the sheer density of that world 00:27:52.630 --> 00:27:54.569 team, seeing how the rookies are getting blocked 00:27:54.569 --> 00:27:57.230 out by veterans and seeing this new format. Yes. 00:27:57.269 --> 00:28:00.200 Have we officially passed the torch? With the 00:28:00.200 --> 00:28:03.500 world team looking so dominant on paper, are 00:28:03.500 --> 00:28:05.579 we entering an era where the U .S. is now the 00:28:05.579 --> 00:28:09.180 underdog? The source notes over 320 players have 00:28:09.180 --> 00:28:11.839 multiple selections. But looking at the recent 00:28:11.839 --> 00:28:14.839 names, it feels like the momentum has completely 00:28:14.839 --> 00:28:17.700 shifted across the Atlantic. That is a provocative 00:28:17.700 --> 00:28:21.099 thought. For 75 years, this game was an American 00:28:21.099 --> 00:28:25.410 export. But now... It feels like it's a global 00:28:25.410 --> 00:28:28.250 import. The world team might just be the favorite 00:28:28.250 --> 00:28:30.289 for the next decade. It's a brave new world, 00:28:30.369 --> 00:28:32.569 literally. Hey, thank you for listening to this 00:28:32.569 --> 00:28:34.650 deep dive. Do yourself a favor. Go pull up this 00:28:34.650 --> 00:28:38.190 list, Wikipedia, NBA .com, wherever. Scan through 00:28:38.190 --> 00:28:40.930 those 466 names. There are so many stories in 00:28:40.930 --> 00:28:42.369 there we didn't even get to touch. It really 00:28:42.369 --> 00:28:44.250 is history written in names and numbers. We'll 00:28:44.250 --> 00:28:45.109 see you next time. Take care.