Lakers’ LeBron James, Anthony Davis receive All-NBA honors
LeBron James continues to raise the bar during the latter stages of his career while Anthony Davis has once again been formally recognized as one of the league’s best players for the first time in four years.
James and Davis received 2023-24 All-NBA honors on Wednesday, with Davis being named to the second team while James was named to the third team.
Davis’ All-NBA honor was his first since the 2019-20 season, when he made the first team.
For James, who was the youngest player to make All-NBA when he was voted onto the team for the 2004-05 season, another selection only added to his list of accomplishments.
The 20 All-NBA overall picks extended his record, a total that’s now five more than Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. His 20 consecutive selections is obviously another record, and he’s the first player to be age 39 or older during what became an All-NBA regular season.
Abdul-Jabbar and Duncan were both just a few days from turning 39 when the regular seasons ended in what became their final All-NBA campaigns, Abdul-Jabbar’s being 1985-86 and Duncan’s being 2014-15. James — the NBA’s career scoring leader — played in 71 games this season, the last 42 of those coming after he turned 39.
James is a 13-time first-team, three-time second-team and now four-time third-team pick, while Davis is a four-time first-team and one-time second-team selection.
Davis arguably had the best season of his career, averaging 24.7 points on 55.6% shooting while adding 12.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.3 blocked shots per game in the regular season. His 76 regular-season games played were a career-high.
The 31-year-old big man is the lone player to be named to an All-NBA and All-Defensive team this season.
James averaged 25.7 points, 8.3 assists and 7.3 rebounds in 71 games this season, shooting 54% from the field and 41% on 3-pointers, his record 20th consecutive season averaging at least 25 points. His 3-point accuracy was a career-high while his shooting percentage was his best in six seasons as a Laker.
The 39-year-old James, who just completed his 21st NBA season, became the first player in league history to eclipse 40,000 career points on March 2 against the Denver Nuggets and extended his NBA-record double-digit scoring streak to 1,222 consecutive regular-season games.
The All-NBA teams are voted on by a panel of 99 reporters and broadcasters who cover the NBA. They vote for players with points awarded on a 5-3-1 basis. This season was the first time that All-NBA, along with All-Defense, were voted on without regard to positions – as opposed to having two guards, two forwards and one center on each of the teams, a formula that had been in place since the 1950s. Players also had to appear in a minimum number of games, in most cases, to be eligible for award consideration.
Denver center Nikola Jokic (sixth selection of his career) and Oklahoma City guard Gilgeous-Alexander were the only unanimous first-team selections. They were joined on the first team by Dallas’ Luka Doncic (fifth straight selection), Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo (sixth straight selection) and Boston’s Jayson Tatum.
On the second team: New York’s Jalen Brunson, Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards, Phoenix’s Kevin Durant (the 11th selection of his career), the Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard and Davis.
The third team had James, Golden State’s Steph Curry (the 10th selection of his career), Sacramento’s Domantas Sabonis, Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton and Phoenix’s Devin Booker.
James did receive one first-team vote for All-NBA, meaning he has received a first-team vote in 19 of his 21 seasons (exceptions were 2019 and 2023).
Dallas’ Doncic became the third player with five first-team All-NBA selections before turning 26, joining Duncan and Durant.