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2023/24 All-NBA Teams Announced

May 22nd, 2024 at 7:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

The All-NBA teams have been announced for the 2023/24 season (Twitter link).

A total of 99 media members voted on the honors, with players receiving five points for a First Team vote, three points for a Second Team vote and one point for a Third Team vote. This year’s All-NBA teams are as follows:

First Team

Second Team

Third Team

Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokic were the only two unanimous First Team selections, receiving 99 of 99 possible votes. Doncic earned 98 First Team votes but was named to the Second Team on one ballot. Antetokounmpo (88), Tatum (65), Brunson (37), Edwards (3), and Durant (2) were the only other players to receive multiple First Team votes.

Others receiving votes and their point totals are the Celtics‘ Jaylen Brown (50), the Clippers‘ Paul George (16), the Sixers‘ Tyrese Maxey (16), the Timberwolves‘ Rudy Gobert (12), the Spurs‘ Victor Wembanyama (11), the Pelicans‘ Zion Williamson (11), the Magic’s Paolo Banchero (10), the Kings‘ De’Aaron Fox (9) the Heat’s Bam Adebayo (7) and the Bulls‘ DeMar DeRozan (1).

This is the first season that a minimum number of games was required to qualify for most postseason awards under the new Collective Bargaining Agreement. Among the stars who might have received All-NBA consideration if they had reached the 65-game threshold are Sixers center Joel Embiid, who was the 2023 MVP, along with Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell, Grizzlies guard Ja Morant, Knicks forward Julius Randle and Celtics big man Kristaps Porzingis.

This was also the first season that voting for the All-NBA team was positionless, though that didn’t have a huge impact on the results, as the top two teams still feature two guards, a pair of forwards, and a center. The Third Team is made up a center, three guards, and just one forward.

Wembanyama, who received two votes for the Second Team and five for the Third Team, was the only rookie named on any of the ballots. Earlier this week, he became the first rookie to earn a spot on an All-Defensive First Team.

The Lakers with Davis and James and the Suns with Durant and Booker were the only teams to have multiple players honored. They were both eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.

Several players became eligible for salary increases or earned a bonus by achieving All-NBA honors. Read more here.

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Thunder Notes: SGA, Giddey, Hayward, Wiggins, Joe

May 19th, 2024 at 9:03am CST by Arthur Hill

The young Thunder may not quite be ready to win a tough playoff series, but there’s little doubt that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is, writes Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman. SGA was at his best in Saturday’s Game 6, scoring a series-high 36 points and hitting numerous clutch shots down the stretch. He also handed out eight assists, the biggest of which was an alley-oop that Chet Holmgren slammed home to give OKC a one-point lead with 20 seconds remaining.

But Gilgeous-Alexander made a critical mistake, committing a foul that sent P.J. Washington to the line for three free throws to decide the series. Washington made his first two shots to give Dallas the lead, then missed the third on purpose to take time off the clock and force Oklahoma City into a long heave on its final possession.

“We talk about it all year, the little things that go into winning games. And being disciplined. It sucks,” Gilgeous-Alexander said of his foul on Washington. “Obviously if I had the moment back I wouldn’t have fouled him and just let him make or miss the shot.” 

At the post-game press conference, Gilgeous-Alexander told reporters that he isn’t interested in watching a replay of the foul. Thunder coach Mark Daigneault challenged the play, which cost him his final timeout, but officials determined that SGA’s contact warranted a foul.

Even if it’s part of the learning process for a team that appears to have an incredibly bright future, the loss was painful in the moment as the players feel like they let an opportunity slip away.

“It’s hard to tell what you remember more, the wins or the losses, but this definitely stings,” Holmgren said. “It doesn’t feel great. Nobody wins 12 straight championships, so the chances I’m gonna feel this at some point again is definitely there. But I’m gonna do everything in my power to avoid this feeling again.”

There’s more on the Thunder:

  • The series highlighted the decision that OKC will eventually have to make about Josh Giddey‘s fit with the rest of the team, notes Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Gilgeous-Alexander’s rise to an MVP candidate and the addition of Jalen Williams have significantly cut into Giddey’s usage rate, and he doesn’t shoot well enough from long distance to be an effective complementary player. Slater notes that Giddey was replaced in the starting lineup for Games 5 and 6 and didn’t start the second half in Games 2 and 4. Giddey will make $8.3MM next season in the final year of his rookie contract, but he’s extension-eligible this summer and Slater suggests he may be a trade candidate if the Thunder go shopping for veteran help.
  • There may not be a future in Oklahoma City for Gordon Hayward, whose $33.3MM salary will come off the books this summer, Slater adds. The team sent unwanted contracts to Charlotte to acquire Hayward at the trade deadline, but he wasn’t a factor in the playoffs, going scoreless in 46 total minutes.
  • The Thunder have a two-year window to upgrade their roster before future extensions start to kick in for their stars, Bobby Marks of ESPN states in his offseason overview of the team. Marks suggests that general manager Sam Presti might decline modest team options for Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe and try to reach long-term deals with both players.
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Thunder Notes: Giddey, Offense, SGA, Williams, Holmgren

May 17th, 2024 at 11:46am CST by Luke Adams

The Thunder‘s decision to move Josh Giddey to the bench came at an odd time, in the view of Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman, who notes that the guard’s fit in the starting lineup has been a concern for much of the season, and certainly for the entire series vs. Dallas. Head coach Mark Daigneault explained on Wednesday why he decided to wait until after Oklahoma City’s Game 4 win to make a change.

“Considering all the information before every single game and treating every game as its own life, I just wasn’t comfortable doing it up until now,” Daigneault said. “At the end of the day I’m making a lot of different decisions. They’re not all gonna be right or wrong.”

Benching Giddey didn’t do a whole lot for the Thunder’s offense, which was limited to 92 points in a Game 5 loss, Mussatto writes. Still, as Anthony Slater of The Athletic relays, Daigneault came away from Wednesday’s loss feeling good about the way the offense functioned, even if the results weren’t there. The NBA’s best three-point shooting team during the regular season (38.9%) made just 10-of-40 attempts from beyond the arc in Game 5.

“I’m careful to say I loved a 92-point night,” Daigneault said. “But I did feel like we were bumping up against some hurdles on the offensive end of the floor the (previous) three games. I did feel like (in Game 5) we were able to find some cracks. We made them a little bit more uncomfortable. We had them in rotation a little bit more.”

Here’s more on the Thunder ahead of a must-win Game 6 on Saturday:

  • Regardless of what happens in Game 6, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander passed an important test this spring, Mussatto writes for The Oklahoman. After having established himself as a No. 1 option, a multi-time All-Star, and a true MVP candidate, Gilgeous-Alexander has shown during this postseason that he’s capable of maintaining his level in the playoffs and being the best player on a legitimate contender. That bodes well going forward for a Thunder team still on the rise, Mussatto observes.
  • After scoring 19 or more points in each of the Thunder’s four games vs. New Orleans in round one, Jalen Williams has only topped 18 points once in five games vs. Dallas. The second-year forward, who is playing in the postseason for the first time, is still working out just how aggressive he should – or needs to – be on offense, tweets Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman. “I think sometimes I should probably force a little more. But I’m big on playing within the team, like we’ve been doing all year,” Williams said. “I think (I’m) sometimes getting caught up in trying to create for others the whole game. It’s a balance that I’m still trying to figure out.”
  • In a series of feature stories, Slater of The Athletic takes a look at Gilgeous-Alexander’s evolution as a team leader in Oklahoma City, Marc J. Spears of Andscape examines how Williams’ self-confidence permeates through a young OKC roster, and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN explores Chet Holmgren‘s perfect fit in the Thunder’s frontcourt.
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Sixers’ Tyrese Maxey Wins 2023/24 Sportsmanship Award

May 16th, 2024 at 11:30am CST by Rory Maher

After being named the league’s Most Improved Player last month, Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey has added another 2023/24 award to his trophy case, having been voted the Sportsmanship Award winner for this season as well, the NBA announced in a press release (Twitter links).

The Sportsmanship Award has been presented annually since ’95/96 and “honors a player who best represents the ideals of sportsmanship on the court.”

According to the NBA, each team nominated one of its players. The 30-player list was then trimmed down to six — one player from each division — by a panel of league executives. Finally, current players voted on the six finalists.

As the full voting results show, Maxey received the most first-place votes and most total points, making him the winner. Heat big man Kevin Love was the runner-up, followed by (in order) Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen, Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Kings forward Harrison Barnes, and Spurs point guard Tre Jones.

The 21st overall pick of the 2020 draft, Maxey will be eligible for restricted free agency this offseason. After his excellent performances this season, there’s no doubt that the 23-year-old will return to the 76ers.

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And-Ones: M. James, M. Howard, Tavares, Canada, Awards

May 14th, 2024 at 2:58pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran guard Mike James, who played for Phoenix and New Orleans in 2017/18 and Brooklyn in 2020/21, has officially been named the EuroLeague’s Most Valuable Player for the 2023/24 season. James has thrived overseas with AS Monaco in recent years — he made the All-EuroLeague First Team in 2022 and the Second Team in 2023.

This season, the 33-year-old ranked second in the EuroLeague in scoring (17.9 points per game) and seventh in assists (5.1 per game). He chipped in a career-high 4.1 rebounds per night and made 37.2% of his three-pointers while also becoming the EuroLeague’s all-time leading career scorer.

James led AS Monaco to a 23-11 regular season record, tied for the second-best mark in the EuroLeague. However, his club was knocked out of the EuroLeague playoffs by Fenerbahce in a hard-fought best-of-five series that included a pair of overtime losses, including a one-point defeat in the deciding game.

James is just the second U.S.-born player to win a EuroLeague MVP award, joining Anthony Parker (2005 and 2006), according to Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com (Twitter link).

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

  • A pair of former NBA players have agreed to contract extensions with their teams in Spain. Ex-Nuggets guard Markus Howard has signed a new deal that extends his deal with Baskonia through 2028, per a press release from the club. Meanwhile, former Cavaliers and Hawks big man Edy Tavares has reportedly agreed to a three-year extension with Real Madrid, per Ramon Alvarez de Mon of La Galerna (Twitter link). There had been some speculation that Tavares might try to return stateside this summer, but unless his new deal with Madrid falls through, it seems that won’t happen after all.
  • Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nuggets guard Jamal Murray could end up squaring off in the Western Conference Finals later this month. They may also be teammates this summer on the Canadian national team that will compete in the Paris Olympics. Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca takes a look at how the formidable play of the two Western Conference stars continues to raise expectations for Team Canada ahead of its first men’s basketball Olympic appearance since 2000.
  • The NBA will announce its Sportsmanship Award on Thursday before revealing its All-Rookie, All-Defensive, and All-NBA teams next Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, according to the league (Twitter link). While most of those announcements will happen during the day, the All-NBA teams will be unveiled on TNT on Wednesday evening’s broadcast.
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Nikola Jokic Named Most Valuable Player

May 8th, 2024 at 6:37pm CST by Arthur Hill

Nuggets center Nikola Jokic has been selected as the NBA’s Most Valuable Player for the third time in four years, the league announced (via Twitter).

Jokic won the Michael Jordan Trophy by a wide margin, showing up on all 99 ballots and collecting 79 votes for first place, 18 for second place and two for third place, giving him a total of 926 points. Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished second, collecting 640 total points by coming in first on 15 ballots, second on 40, third on 40, fourth on three and fifth on one.

Rounding out the top five were Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (4-36-50-8-0-566), Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (1-1-4-44-23-192) and Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (0-3-1-28-32-142).

Also receiving votes were Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0-0-1-14-39-89), Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (0-1-1-1-3-18), Kings center Domantas Sabonis (one fourth-place vote) and Suns forward Kevin Durant (one fifth-place vote).

Jokic becomes the ninth player to claim at least three MVP awards (Twitter link). He ties Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Moses Malone, and trails only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (six), Michael Jordan and Bill Russell (five each), and Wilt Chamberlain and LeBron James (four each).

The Nuggets celebrated the honor by tweeting a video tribute to Jokic narrated by his wife, Natalija.

Jokic posted another outstanding statistical season, averaging 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds and 9.0 assists in 79 games. He shot 58.3% from the field and 35.9% from three-point range as Denver claimed the second seed in the Western Conference.

Bennett Durando of The Denver Post took a closer look at Jokic’s historic season, noting that he finished fifth in the league in total points, third in total rebounds and second in total assists. He also collected 25 triple-doubles and posted a true shooting percentage above 65% for the third straight season while leading the NBA in most advanced stats, including PER, VORP, box plus-minus, and win shares.

“I think he’s stated his case pretty well,” Jamal Murray said today before the award was announced. “He does it every night. It’s hard to do what he does and face the kind of pressure that he does each and every day. He does it in the smallest ways. He makes everybody around us better. He’s a leader on the court and someone we expect greatness from every time he steps on the court. And he’s delivered. … He’s been so consistent all his career, all his MVP runs. He’s been so consistent. So I don’t expect one or two bad games to sway that in any way.”

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Thunder Notes: SGA, Defense, Wiggins, Williams, Bench

May 8th, 2024 at 12:48pm CST by Luke Adams

Ahead of Wednesday evening’s MVP announcement, two of the three finalists for the award faced off in Oklahoma City on Tuesday, with Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander outdueling Luka Doncic of the Mavericks, writes Anthony Slater of The Athletic.

Doncic, who is still battling a knee sprain, struggled to score efficiently against a Thunder defensive attack led by Luguentz Dort, making just 6-of-19 field goal attempts. Gilgeous-Alexander, meanwhile, racked up 29 points and nine assists and was a game-high +21 in OKC’s 22-point victory.

As Slater notes, neither Gilgeous-Alexander nor Doncic is expected to win this year’s Most Valuable Player award, given that Nikola Jokic is the heavy favorite. But even if Jokic wins, as expected, it’s an open question which star guard will finish as the runner-up. For his part, Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t make it sound as if he’s been eagerly anticipating Wednesday’s announcement.

“If I’m at home (I’ll watch),” Gilgeous-Alexander said, per Slater. “I didn’t know it was (Wednesday).”

Here’s more on the Thunder:

  • Through five playoff contests, the Thunder have allowed just 90.6 points per game, the lowest mark by any team through five games since the 2016 Spurs, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPN. “It’s where we hang our hat every night,” Gilgeous-Alexander said of the Thunder’s defense. “Especially this late in the season, we know that if we want to win basketball games, that it’s gonna start on that end. Obviously we have some really talented players on that end of the floor, but we also like to do it together and not just rely on those guys.” Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving described OKC’s “endless amount of energy” as an obstacle Dallas will have to overcome to have a chance in the series, MacMahon adds.
  • The Thunder showed off their depth in Tuesday’s victory, according to Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. Led by Aaron Wiggins (16 points) and Jaylin Williams (11 points, nine rebounds), Oklahoma City’s bench outscored Dallas’ by a 42-23 margin. Many of the Thunder’s key reserves are on team-friendly deals for next season — Williams is under contract for the minimum, while OKC holds minimum-salary team options on Wiggins and Isaiah Joe.
  • The Thunder haven’t necessarily been viewed as a legitimate title threat due to their youth and lack of playoff experience, as well as their lack of size and rebounding, but each one of their postseason wins serves as evidence that those perceived weaknesses might not matter much, says Zach Kram of The Ringer. As Kram details, Oklahoma City led the NBA in several statistical categories, including three-point percentage, transition scoring, and turnovers forced, and was the only team besides Boston to rank in the top five in the league in both offensive and defensive rating. It’s true that no team this young has ever won a title, but no team as young as the current Thunder has ever been this good, Kram argues.
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And-Ones: MVP Race, Awards Announcements, Barton, Betting, Barkley

May 5th, 2024 at 8:38pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are the finalists for the Most Valuable Player award. ESPN’s Zach Lowe and Tim Bontemps take a closer look at the contenders and reveal the results of a straw poll. Jokic is the clear favorite to win the award for the third time, while Lowe gives Doncic the edge for second place due to his superior play-making.

We have more from around the basketball world:

  • Speaking of the MVP race, the league will announce the winner on Wednesday night, according to NBA Communications (Twitter link). The Rookie of the Year award will be announced on Monday and the Defensive Player of the Year will be revealed on Tuesday. Victor Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert, respectively, are the favorites for those two awards.
  • Former NBA forward Will Barton has joined Cangrejeros de Santurce, a Puerto Rican team, according to Sportando. Bardon also had short stints wih CSKA Moscow and Granada this season. Barton played a total of 56 games for Washington and Toronto last season.
  • In the aftermath of Jontay Porter getting banned from the NBA for gambling-related offenses related to prop bets, the NBA and its partner sportsbooks are discussing changes to combat similar occurrences in the future, David Purdum of ESPN reports. Among the changes that have been discussed is prohibiting betting on players with two-way contracts. There have also been discussions on not allowing bets on the “under” on a player prop, though there are concerns that restricting wagers could push bettors into the unregulated betting market.
  • Charles Barkley stated on the Dan Patrick Show (Twitter link) that if TNT loses its NBA broadcasting rights, he’ll become a free agent. He’s unsure about “Inside the NBA” moving to another network because host Ernie Johnson said he wouldn’t leave Turner Sports. The NBA is in serious negotiations with NBC, Amazon and ESPN/ABC to split up the broadcasting rights, which could leave TNT out of the picture.
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Western Notes: Thunder, Pelicans, Loucks, Christie, Kings

April 25th, 2024 at 12:41pm CST by Rory Maher

The Thunder demolished the Pelicans by 32 points on Wednesday, led by 80 combined points from Rookie of the Year finalist Chet Holmgren (26), MVP finalist Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (33) and rising second-year forward Jalen Williams (21), per Andrew Lopez of ESPN. The trio was extremely efficient, going 32-of-49 from the field (.653%).

After Pels center Jonas Valanciunas opened by scoring the first 11 points for New Orleans, Oklahoma City countered by giving Holmgren looks from the perimeter, Lopez writes. The 2022 No. 2 overall pick responded with 15 points in the opening frame en route to a double-digit lead.

“He was great to start,” Gilgeous-Alexander said of Holmgren. “He was aggressive, he was assertive, made quick decisions and obviously was a big reason why we got out to that lead. He just played to his strengths and didn’t try to stray from them. We all know when he does that, he’s really good.”

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

  • Perhaps more concerning than the loss itself was the way the Pelicans lost. As William Guillory of The Athletic details, New Orleans came away from Game 1’s two-point loss somewhat encouraged and responded with an absolute dud of a performance in Game 2. The Pelicans allowed OKC to score 124 points on a shooting line of .590/.483/.900. They had 18 turnovers, including eight offensive fouls. And they only finished with 92 points for the second straight game. Yes, the Pelicans are playing without Zion Williamson, but an ugly early exit could lead to major changes in the offseason, Guillory writes.
  • Kings head coach Mike Brown told reporters, including Sean Cunningham of Fox 40 KTXL (Twitter link), that assistant coach Luke Loucks will move to a front-of-bench role after Jordi Fernandez‘s departure to Brooklyn. Brown added that assistant Doug Christie will likely coach Sacramento’s Summer League team, though that isn’t set in stone.
  • After winning a tiebreaker with Golden State, there’s now a 92.9% chance the Kings will end up with the No. 13 overall pick in June’s draft. GM Monte McNair said Sacramento is “excited” about the prospects who could be available at that spot, but the team will explore its options with the lottery pick, including potentially trading it, tweets James Ham of ESPN 1320 and TheKingsBeat.com.
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And-Ones: Postseason Awards, Fernandez, SLC Summer League, Players’ Poll

April 22nd, 2024 at 10:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The NBA revealed the finalists for seven postseason awards on Sunday. The league will begin announcing the winners on Tuesday, the NBA’s communications department tweets.

The Most Improved Player award will be announced on Tuesday. Tyrese Maxey, Alperen Sengun and Coby White are the finalists. The Sixth Man of the Year award winner will be revealed on Wednesday, followed by the Clutch Player of the Year (Thursday) and Coach of the Year (Sunday).

We have more from around the basketball world:

  • The Nets’ hiring of Jordi Fernandez as their head coach won’t affect his status with Team Canada. Fernandez will coach their national team at the Paris Olympics, Canada Basketball tweets.
  • The Salt Lake City Summer League will take place July 8-10 at the Jazz’s Delta Center, according to a press release. The Jazz, Grizzlies, Thunder and Sixers will once again compete in the round-robin summer showcase, which precedes the Las Vegas Summer League.
  • The Athletic’s Sam Amick and Josh Robbins compiled poll results from 142 NBA players on a variety of topics. Nikola Jokic topped Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for MVP, while Michael Jordan edged out LeBron James for Greatest Player of All Time. A majority of the players chose James Johnson as the player they’d least like to fight.
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