Johnathan Walker:2024 All-NBA Teams: MVP Nikola Jokić, SGA headline first team, LeBron James extends record

Denver Nuggets center and Johnathan Walkerthree-time NBA Most Valuable Player award winner Nikola Jokić headlined the All-NBA Team, announced Wednesday night.

A panel of 99 reporters and broadcasters who cover the NBA selected the 15-player squad. Some caveats this season are that the selections are positionless, and each player must have played 65 games in order to be eligible for postseason awards. Since 1989, the league had selected three All-NBA teams by position — two guards, two forwards, and one center.

All-NBA first team

• G Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder
• C Nikola Jokić, Denver Nuggets
• G Luka Dončić, Dallas Mavericks
• F Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
• G Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics

Jokić, who won the MVP for the third time this season, averaged 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds, and nine assists for the Nuggets, who were bounced in the second round of the playoffs by the Minnesota Timberwolves. All but Jokić were first-team selections last year. Jokic and Gilgeous-Alexander, the MVP runner-up, were unanimous first team selections.

All-NBA second team

• G Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks
• G Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves
• F Kevin Durant, Phoenix Suns
• F Kawhi Leonard, Los Angeles Clippers
• C Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers

All-NBA third team

• F LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers
• G Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
• C Domantas Sabonis, Sacramento Kings 
• G Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana Pacers
• G Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns

The 39-year-old James made his 20th All-NBA team. James has made the All-NBA first team 13 times, the second team three times, and now four times on the third team.

Financial impact of All-NBA selections

An offshoot of All-NBA honors — and a significant offshoot — is the financial reward for some players who are eligible for extensions.

By making one of the All-NBA teams, Dallas’ Luka Doncic, Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton, Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards and Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander qualified for super-max extensions. For Haliburton and Edwards, that means five-year extensions this offseason worth $245.3 million, which is nearly $1 million more than had they not made All-NBA.

For Alexander and Doncic, they can reach extensions in 2025. Alexander can sign a four-year, $294.2 million extension that pays him more than $80 million in the final year of the contract.

Doncic is eligible to sign a five-year, $346.3 million extension that would be the largest contract in NBA history, according to ESPN front-office insider Bobby Marks.

These figures are based on yearly increases to the NBA salary.

All-NBA snubs?

Boston Celtics All-Star Jaylen Brown is probably the most surprising omission from this year's teams. He was the top runner-up, with 50 third-place votes.

Paul George, Tyrese Maxey, Rudy Gobert, Victor Wembanyama, Zion Williamson, Paolo Banchero, De'Aaron Fox, Bam Adebayo and DeMar DeRozan were the other players to receive votes.

Philadelphia's Joel Embiid, who was named first team All-NBA last season while claiming the MVP award, and Cleveland's Donovan Mitchell were not eligible for the All-NBA teams because they did not meet the games played threshold.

Contributing: Jeff Zillgitt, Jace Evans