As a rookie, LeBron James was left off the 2003-04 All-Star squad after not being selected as a starter by the fans. The coaches chose Jason Kidd, Kenyon Martin, Jamaal Magloire, Ron Artest, Baron Davis, Michael Redd, and Paul Pierce as reserves that year. However, since it was his first season, he was allowed to participate in the Rookie Challenge. This would be the only All-Star game appearance of his career until this year. He had been chosen as a reserve by the coaches for each of the previous three seasons, but never made the actual team. A few days before the All-Star Game, it was announced that James would be given the start in place of the injured Kobe Bryant. This is because most people believe that if you are an All-Star player then you should be starting games. However, this is not true; the coaches decide who starts each game and they could have any reason they want. Maybe the other players feel like resting them or maybe they want to give someone else a chance to show what they can do. In any case, this started a great debate among many fans and media members about whether or not James was actually doing enough to be considered an all-star player.