LeBron James gets last laugh over Dillon Brooks in cruel twist

The NBA announced the reserves for the 2026 All-Star game on Sunday, with Devin Booker deservedly making the cut.

Although currently injured and not having his best individual campaign, he is the best player on a Phoenix Suns franchise that has obliterated all expectations set out for them. It is more than deserved.

LeBron James makes the cut over Dillon Brooks

That is where the good news ends for Phoenix however, with LeBron James somehow making the game over Dillon Brooks.

A tough blow for Brooks given he is having a career year, while he also had the backing of several NBA legends to make the midseason exhibition for the first time.

The fact that it was LeBron of all players who is the most surprising addition, and who by extension got in over Brooks, adds some salt to the wounds.

The two have a well documented history with one another, although Brooks isn't the only player who can feel hard done by here. How Kawhi Leonard didn't make it after the season he has ended up having is ridiculous.

It also highlights once more that Los Angeles will never be a Clippers town, given the All-Star game is taking place in their arena and a Laker in James will be there at 41-years-old over an actual Clipper in Leonard.

Back to Brooks and he has also been nothing but a brilliant teammate in Phoenix this season, on top of resetting the culture there. These intangibles are hard to quantify when it comes to All-Star selection, but they don't seem to have been considered enough.

You could also make the case that this game needed Brooks more than he needed to be selected. Can you imagine how seriously he would have taken everything?

That might sound like the opposite of what All-Star Weekend is about, but it is also a dying concept that is in dire need of a revamp.

What better way to get the fans involved than having Brooks take possessions seriously, or not dapping up opponents? Media availability with him sure would have been fun too.

Instead it'll be more of the same and a player in James who could have just been added closer to the time as a legacy player anyway. It's not like the league hasn't done that before with Dwyane Wade and Dirk Nowitzki.

Had James also confirmed this was his last season, then he likely would have been selected in this way too. Instead it is Brooks who suffers, although you can be sure he's more preoccupied with getting the Suns to the playoffs anyway.