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The All-NBA Team is an annual
National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
(NBA) honor bestowed on the best players in the league following every NBA season. The voting is conducted by a global panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. The team has been selected in every season of the league's existence, dating back to its inaugural season in
1946 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...
. The All-NBA Team originally had two teams, but since 1988 it is typically composed of three five-man lineups—a first, second, and third team. From
1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...
through
2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...
, voters selected two guards, two forwards, and one center for each team. This contrasts with the voting for starters of the
NBA All-Star Game The National Basketball Association All-Star Game is the annual all-star game hosted each February by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and showcases 24 of the league's All-star, star players. Since 2022, it was held on the third Sunday of ...
, which has chosen two backcourt and three frontcourt players since
2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
. The NBA's sister league, the
Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. The league comprises 13 teams (scheduled to expand to 15 in 2026). The WNBA is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan. The WNBA w ...
(WNBA), announced late in its 2022 season that it was changing the composition of its All-WNBA Teams from the All-NBA format to a "positionless" format in which members are selected without regard to position. Starting with the 2023–24 season, coinciding with the start of a new
collective bargaining agreement A collective agreement, collective labour agreement (CLA) or collective bargaining agreement (CBA) is a written contract negotiated through collective bargaining for employees by one or more trade unions with the management of a company (or with an ...
(CBA) between the NBA and its players' union, the NBA adopted the WNBA's "positionless" format for All-NBA team composition—which the NBA had originally used before adopting a positional model in 1955–56. NBA players receive five points for a first team vote, three points for a second team vote, and one point for a third team vote. Starting in 2023–24, the five highest point totals regardless of position make up the first team, with the second and third teams following. During the positional era, the players with the highest point totals at each position made the first team, with the next highest making the second team and so forth. On one occasion, six players were placed on a team, when
Bob Davies Robert Edris Davies (January 15, 1920 – April 22, 1990) was an American professional basketball player. Alongside Bobby Wanzer he formed one of the best backcourt duos in the National Basketball Association's early years. Davies and Wanzer le ...
and Dolph Schayes tied for the first team in
1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...
; the second team remained at five. As part of effort to reduce
load management Load management, also known as demand-side management (DSM), is the process of Load balancing (electrical power), balancing the supply of electricity on the network with the electrical load by adjusting or controlling the load rather than the pow ...
for top stars in the league, the 2023–24 season introduced an eligibility threshold of 65 games played (out of the normal 82-game schedule) for most major regular-season playing awards and honors, including the All-NBA Team. To receive credit for a game for purposes of award eligibility, a player must have been credited with at least 20 minutes played. However, two "near misses", in which the player appeared for 15 to 19 minutes, can be included in the 65-game count. Protections also exist for players who suffer season-ending injuries, who are eligible with 62 credited games, and those affected by what the CBA calls "bad faith circumstances". During the era of position-based team composition, voters were instructed to "vote for the player at the position he plays regularly", and some used the flexibility to designate a player at a position which was not their primary role. A player who received votes at multiple positions was classified at the position in which they received the most votes. This occasionally caused a player to be slotted to a lower team or miss an All-NBA selection altogether. For example,
Draymond Green Draymond Jamal Green (born March 4, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Green, who plays primarily at the Power forward (basketball), power forward pos ...
received votes at forward and center in
2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...
, but he was placed on the second team as a forward although he had more total points than the first-team center, DeAndre Jordan. In
2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...
, Khris Middleton garnered votes at both forward and guard, yet he was not on the third team despite having more points overall than Ben Simmons and
Russell Westbrook Russell Westbrook III (born November 12, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A point guard, Westbrook made his NBA debut in 2008 and became a star as a member o ...
, who were selected at guard.
LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. ( ; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is the NBA's all-time leading scorer and ...
has the most All-NBA selections with twenty-one.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ( ; born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr. , April 16, 1947) is an American former basketball player. He played professionally for 20 seasons for the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Associatio ...
,
Kobe Bryant Kobe Bean Bryant ( ; August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise, spent his entire 20-year career with t ...
, and
Tim Duncan Timothy Theodore Duncan (born April 25, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise, spent his entire 19-year career with the San Antonio Sp ...
previously shared the record with fifteen. James also has the most All-NBA First Team honors with thirteen and is the only player to have done so as a member of three different teams, while Bryant and
Karl Malone Karl Anthony Malone (born July 24, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Mailman", he is considered one of the greatest power forwards in NBA history. Malone spen ...
are tied for second-most with eleven. Malone and James each share a record eleven consecutive first-team selections.
Hakeem Olajuwon Hakeem Abdul Olajuwon ( ; ; born January 21, 1963), nicknamed "the Dream", is a Nigerian and American former professional basketball player. From 1984 to 2002, he played Center (basketball), center in the National Basketball Association (NB ...
became the first international player to be named All-NBA in 1985–86. Since 2019, at least two international players have been named each season to the All-NBA First Team, including four players for the first time in 2023.


Selections


1946–47 to 1954–55

From the 1946–47 season to 1954–55 season, the All-NBA Team was composed of two teams, each with five roster spots, except when there were ties. During this period, players were selected without regard to position.


1955–56 to 1987–88

From the 1955–56 season to 1987–88 season, the All-NBA Team was composed of two teams, each with five roster spots, except when there were ties. During this time, players were selected with regard to position.


1988–89 to 2022–23

From the 1988–89 season through the 2022–23 season, the All-NBA Team was composed of three teams, each with five roster spots, except when there were ties. Players were selected with regard to position.


From 2023–24

Starting with the 2023–24 season, the All-NBA Team consists of three teams selected without regard to position, each with five roster spots, except when there are ties. Players will be listed in order of points received in voting; those tied on points will be listed in alphabetic order by family name.


Most selections

The following table only lists players with at least ten total selections.


See also

*
NBA All-Defensive Team The NBA All-Defensive Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1968–69 NBA season to the best defensive players during the regular season. The All-Defensive Team is generally composed of ten players in tw ...
* All-ABA Team *
All-National Basketball League (United States) Team The All-National Basketball League Team was an annual National Basketball League (United States), National Basketball League (NBL) honor bestowed upon the best players in the United States league following the NBL season. The team was selected eve ...
* All-NBA G League Team *
List of NBA regular season records This article lists all-time records achieved in the National Basketball Association, NBA regular season in major statistical categories recognized by the league, including those set by teams and individuals in a game, season, and career. The NB ...
*


Notes


References

;General * * * ;Specific {{featured list NBA awards NBA lists