The All-NBA Team is an annual
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...
(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.
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.
Since
1956
Events
January
* January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan.
* January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, are kille ...
, voters have 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 a basketball exhibition game hosted every February by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and showcases 24 of the league's star players. It is the featured event of NBA All-Star Weekend, ...
, which has chosen two
backcourt and three
frontcourt
In the sport of basketball, there are five players play per team, each assigned to positions. Historically, these players have been assigned, to positions defined by the role they play on the court, from a strategic point of view. The three main ...
players since
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment ...
. The NBA's sister league, the
Women's National Basketball Association
The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is an American professional basketball league. It is composed of twelve teams, all based in the United States. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the Natio ...
(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. 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. The players with the highest point totals at their respective positions make 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 and ]Dolph Schayes
Adolph Schayes (May 19, 1928 – December 10, 2015) was an American professional basketball player and coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A top scorer and rebounder, he was a 12-time NBA All-Star and a 12-time All-NBA selection. ...
tied for the first team in 1952
Events January–February
* January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses.
* February 6
** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh ...
; the second team remained at five.
Voters are instructed to "vote for the player at the position he plays regularly", and some use the flexibility to designate a player at a position which is not their primary role.[ A player who receives votes at multiple positions is classified at the position in which they received the most votes.][ This can cause a player to be slotted to a lower team or miss an All-NBA selection altogether. For example, Draymond Green received votes at forward and center in 2016, 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
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in ...
, 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
Benjamin David Simmons (born 20 July 1996) is an Australian professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for one season with the LSU Tigers, after which he was ...
and Russell Westbrook
Russell Westbrook III (born November 12, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A member of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team, he is a nine-time NBA All-Star and ...
, 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 widely considered one of the greatest pl ...
has the most All-NBA selections with eighteen. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kareem (alternatively spelled Karim or Kerim) ( ar, کریم) is a common given name and surname of Arabic origin that means "generous", "noble", "honorable". It is also one of the Names of God in Islam in the Quran.
Given name Karim
* Karim ...
, Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bean Bryant ( ; August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he spent his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely ...
, and Tim Duncan
Timothy Theodore Duncan (born April 25, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "the Big Fundamental", he is widely regarded as the greatest power forward of all time and one of the greatest players in NBA histor ...
previously shared the record with fifteen. James also has the most All-NBA First Team honors with thirteen and the only player to have such in three 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.
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; they are listed according to position in the following descending order: two forwards, one center and two guards.
1988–89 to present
Since the 1988–89 season, the All-NBA Team has been composed of three teams, each with five roster spots, except when there are ties. Players are selected with regard to position; they are listed according to position in the following descending order: two forwards, one center and two guards.
Most selections
The following table only lists players with at least ten total selections.
See also
* NBA All-Defensive Team
* All-ABA Team
*All-National Basketball League (United States) Team
The All-National Basketball League Team was an annual National Basketball League (NBL) honor bestowed upon the best players in the United States league following the NBL season. The team was selected every season of the league's existence, from 1 ...
*All-NBA G League Team
The All-NBA G League Team is an annual NBA G League (G League) honor bestowed on the best players in the league following every G League season. The voting is conducted by the league's head coaches. The team has been selected in every season of th ...
*
Notes
References
;General
*
*
*
;Specific
{{featured list
National Basketball Association awards
National Basketball Association lists