BOSTON — Luka Dončić, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Edwards and Tyrese Haliburton were among the 15 NBA stars to receive all-league honors Wednesday, but their accolades come with massive financial bonuses.
The first, second and third All-NBA teams were unveiled before Game 1 of the Western Conference finals. Dončić, who is playing in the series for the Dallas Mavericks, was named to the first team, along with Giannis Antetokounmpo of Milwaukee, Gilgeous-Alexander of Oklahoma City, reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokić of Denver and Jayson Tatum of Boston.
Named to the All-NBA second team were Minnesota’s Edwards, who also is in the West finals, Anthony Davis of the L.A. Lakers, Kevin Durant of Phoenix, Kawhi Leonard of the LA Clippers and Jalen Brunson of New York. The third team is Indiana’s Haliburton, Stephen Curry of Golden State, LeBron James of the LA Lakers, Domantas Sabonis of Sacramento and Devin Booker of Phoenix.
Dončić and Gilgeous-Alexander will become richer thanks to something known in league circles as the “Jayson Tatum rule.”
Neither player is eligible for a contract extension this summer because of service time (six years for both players), but next year they will be. Each player will have been on All-NBA teams in at least two of the previous three seasons by the time the summer of 2025 arrives, a requirement to qualify for the maximum contract extension allowed.
Dončić’s contract extension would be worth $346 million over five years; Gilgeous-Alexander’s deal would be $294 million over the same period.
In the cases of Haliburton and Edwards, the massive rookie-scale contracts they signed last summer will go up in value by about $40 million. Both signed five-year, $204 million extensions that were to increase if they were to earn an All-NBA selection for the first time, per league rule.
Haliburton played through injuries this season to ensure he played at least 65 regular-season games to be eligible for an All-NBA honor.
“Obviously, we know the financial benefit for me,” Haliburton said Wednesday in Boston before the all-league selections were announced. “And I think it’s just the fruits of my labor. It would be cool to see that appreciation shown in my game.”
Antetokounmpo, who was second in the NBA in scoring (30.4 points per game), made the All-NBA first team for the sixth consecutive season, joining only legend Jerry West, who also achieved the honor in his career.
Dončić, the league’s top scorer at 33.9 points per game and runner-up in assists (9.8), is on the first team for the fifth consecutive season. Dwight Howard, George Gervin and George Mikan are the others to do it in that many consecutive seasons.
Jokić, now a three-time NBA MVP after winning the award two weeks ago, and Gilgeous-Alexander, runner-up to Jokić in MVP voting, were unanimous selections to the first team. Dončić received 98 out of a possible 99 votes for the first team from the panel of writers and broadcasters who cover the NBA, while Antetokounmpo picked up 88 votes.
Tatum, whose Celtics lead the Pacers 1-0 in the Eastern Conference finals, received 65 first-team votes to Brunson’s 37. This is Jokić’s fourth consecutive first-team selection and the third consecutive for Tatum.
James, 39, extended his league record for consecutive seasons on any All-NBA team to 20. Durant made an All-NBA list for the 11th time in his career and this was the 10th selection for Curry.
This year, voters were able to select their choices without restrictions by position, which is a change from the past. There ended up being two guards (Dončić, Gilgeous-Alexander), two forwards (Tatum, Antetokounmpo), and one center (Jokić) on the first team anyway, but in years past voters have had to decide whether Jokić or Joel Embiid would make the first team at center.
That wasn’t an issue this season because Embiid wasn’t eligible after not reaching the 65-game threshold.
The NBA awards season is now complete. Here’s a look at the other winners:
Defensive player: Rudy Gobert of Minnesota
Rookie: Victor Wembanyama of San Antonio
Most improved: Tyrese Maxey of Philadelphia
Sixth man: Naz Reid of Minnesota
Clutch player: Curry
Coach: Mark Daigneault of Oklahoma City
All-defensive and all-rookie teams also were announced this week.
— Eric Nehm contributed to this story.
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(Photo: C. Morgan Engel / Getty Images)
Daniel Miller is a sports fanatic who lives and breathes athletics. His coverage spans from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis for sports enthusiasts.
