For the past few seasons, the All-NBA teams have highlighted a changing of guard in the league, with older gatekeepers like LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant clearing the way for some of the younger talent.
The same was true this season, indicating a greater inclination toward the next superstars in the NBA.
The league announced their three All-NBA teams on Wednesday and the first five off the board didn't offer much in the way of surprises.
Headlining the first team are this generation's stalwarts Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic and Jayson Tatum. Canada's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander rounds out the list and joins the above players as multiple-time representatives, earning the honour for the second-straight season.
Gilgeous-Alexander helped the Oklahoma City Thunder to a breakout season, carrying them to first place in the Western Conference while averaging 30.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 2.0 steals.
Jokic was a sure thing to secure a top spot as the Serbian superstar earned his third MVP award earlier this month after averaging 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds and 9.0 assists for the Denver Nuggets this season. It's his fourth time making the first team and sixth time overall on an All-NBA team.
Doncic, the final MVP finalist, led the league in scoring with 33.9 points a game while grabbing 9.2 rebounds and dishing out 9.8 assists. This is his fifth-straight all-NBA first-team selection.
Tatum, named to the first-team for the third-straight time, led the way for the league-topping Boston Celtics while averaging 26.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and 4.9 assists.
Lastly, Antetokounmpo earns his sixth-straight first-team selection and his eighth all-NBA nomination of his career after averaging 30.4 points, 11.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists for the Bucks this season.
LeBron James, who was named to the third-team, became both the youngest and the oldest player to make an All-NBA team. He was the youngest player to make All-NBA when he was voted onto the team for the 2004-05 season, another selection only added to his list of accomplishments.
The 20 All-NBA overall picks extended his record, a total that’s now five more than Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. His 20 consecutive selections is obviously another record, and he’s the first player to be age 39 or older during what became an All-NBA regular season.
This is the first season that the NBA has put to use their new selection restrictions, prohibiting players who have played less than 65 games from earning a spot on an all-NBA team. Some notable names ineligible for all-NBA honours are guys like Joel Embiid, Donovan Mitchell, Jimmy Butler and Jamal Murray.
It's also the first year that the teams are selected without regard to position rather than the two-guard, two-forward, one-centre format used in prior seasons.
There are also financial incentives for being named to an All-NBA team. For Doncic and Gilgeous-Alexander, the All-NBA nods mean they are poised for supermax extensions that can be signed in 2025, both of which would set records.
Doncic can sign a five-year deal worth about $347 million, starting at nearly $60 million in 2026-27 and ending at about $79 million in 2030-31. Gilgeous-Alexander will be eligible to sign a four-year extension worth about $294 million. His would start in 2027-28 at around $65 million — and the final year, 2030-31, would see him earning just over $81 million, or nearly $1 million per game. It would be the first time an NBA player's annual salary has topped $80 million.
Also seeing major financial boosts from their All-NBA selections were Edwards and Haliburton, both of whom agreed to extensions last summer that were to be worth about $205 million — and now will be worth about $245 million over the next five seasons.
Here is the full list of honourees for the All-NBA teams:
FIRST TEAM
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, G, Oklahoma City Thunder
Luka Doncic, G, Oklahoma City Thunder
Jayson Tatum, F, Boston Celtics
Giannis Antetokounmpo, F, Milwaukee Bucks
Nikola Jokic, C, Denver Nuggets
SECOND TEAM
Jalen Brunson, G, New York Knicks
Anthony Davis, C, L.A. Lakers
Anthony Edwards, G, Minnesota Timberwolves
Kevin Durant, F, Phoenix Suns
Kawhi Leonard, F, L.A. Clippers
THIRD TEAM
Devin Booker, G, Phoenix Suns
Stephen Curry, G, Golden State Warriors
Tyrese Haliburton, G, Indiana Pacers
LeBron James, F, L.A. Lakers
Domantas Saboanis, C, Sacramento Kings
-- With files from the Associated Press
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