LeBron James is now both the youngest and the oldest player to make an All-NBA team. And Dallas’ Luka Doncic and Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are poised to earn around $1 million per game in a few years.
Denver’s Nikola Jokic and Gilgeous-Alexander were the only unanimous first-team selections on this season’s All-NBA squad, which the league announced on Wednesday night. Doncic, Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Boston’s Jayson Tatum also made the first team.
The second team includes New York’s Jalen Brunson, Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards, Phoenix’s Kevin Durant, the Los Angeles Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard, and James’ Los Angeles Lakers colleague Anthony Davis.
The final team included James, Golden State’s Stephen Curry, Sacramento’s Domantas Sabonis, Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton, and Phoenix’s Devin Booker.
Starting this season, the NBA revised the rules so that All-NBA voting is now positionless, as opposed to having two guards, two forwards, and one center on each team, as had been the case since the 1950s. In most situations, players had to feature in a certain number of games in order to be considered for an award by the voting panel of 99 broadcasters and writers.
James, who was the youngest player to be named All-NBA for the 2004-05 season, added another honor to his resume.
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James smiles as he talks with a media member while he watches his son Bronny James during the 2024 NBA Draft Combine 5-on-5 basketball game between Team St. Andrews and Team Love in Chicago, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
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.
Abdul-Jabbar and Duncan were both just a few days from turning 39 when the regular seasons ended in what became their final All-NBA campaigns, Abdul-Jabbar´s being 1985-86 and Duncan´s being 2014-15. James – the NBA’s career scoring leader – played in 71 games this season, the last 42 of those coming after he turned 39.
And 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.
Durant made All-NBA for the 11th time, tying for the 12th-most in NBA history.
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic checks the clock late in the second half of Game 7 of an NBA second-round playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves Sunday, May 19, 2024, in Denver.
Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic celebrates after sinking a basket in the second half of Game 6 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series against the Oklahoma City Thunder Saturday, May 18, 2024, in Dallas.
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) shoots over Dallas Mavericks’ Derrick Jones Jr. (55) in the first half of Game 6 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series Saturday, May 18, 2024, in Dallas.
Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) reacts as time winds off the clock in overtime of Game 1 of the NBA Eastern Conference basketball finals against the Indiana Pacers, Tuesday, May 21, 2024, in Boston.
