Selecting The 2025 All-NBA Teams

With this weekend marking the conclusion of the season, it’s time to narrow down who deserves to headline the 2025 All-NBA Teams.

It remains a thrilling excerise, albeit a tough one. This is the sixth annual version of this column and the injection of young NBA talent only makes it harder when there’s an abundance of superstars to pick from.

The All-NBA Teams are positionless for the second straight year – a change that needs to be permanent.

Unfortunately, a lot of notable names are deemed ineligible for all awards because of the league’s unnecessary 65-game rule.

It’s a massive list of players that can’t be considered for All-NBA. Victor Wembanyama, Kevin Durant, Luka Doncic, Anthony Davis, Kawhi Leonard, Damian Lillard, Jaylen Brown, Joel Embiid, Paolo Banchero, Kyrie Irving, Zion Williamson, Jimmy Butler, Ja Morant, Chet Holmgren, Franz Wagner, LaMelo Ball, and Scottie Barnes, among others.

Could you imagine how difficult voting would be if a few of those guys reached the games played threshold?

Luckily we don’t have to make those hard cuts this year. So, let’s get right into it!

All-NBA First Team

Let’s be clear – there are four stone cold locks for First Team. SGA, Jokic, Tatum, and Antetokounmpo will be on every ballot. If they aren’t, those particular voters will need to answer serious questions.

All four will receive their proper recognition and honors in my MVP leaderboard column this week. Therefore, I won’t waste much space on the top dogs.

The only part of this up for debate is the fifth spot. That’s where things get tricky.

Any choice between Anthony Edwards, Stephen Curry, or Donovan Mitchell is a reasonable selection here. Each of them have strong arguments.

Mitchell doesn’t just have the edge in team success – he’s leaps and bounds ahead of the field. The Cavs were 55-16 when he was active, paired with a 10.5 net rating with him on the floor. Unfortunately, on an individual level, he didn’t finish out the year as strongly as Curry or Edwards. After the All-Star break, Mitchell’s true shooting plummeted below league-average and he struggled in multiple areas offensively.

Edwards just did more on both ends of the court – all while facing tougher defensive coverages and reshaping his shot profile on a whim. Seriously, does everybody understand what Edwards did over the last six months?

His shooting leap was off the charts. Plus, it’s one of the most unbelievable things you’ll see out of a young player. Edwards decided last offseason to get more audacious with his 3-point attempts, saying he wanted to model his game closer to Damian Lillard to help with Minnesota’s efficiency and halfcourt attack after trading away Karl Towns.

That assertion took him from 532 long-range attempts last year … to 793 this season in roughly the same amount of minutes.

Now, exactly half of Edwards’ shot attempts are threes. It boosted his scoring average, but most importantly, gave Minnesota another deadly counter when things get bogged down in clutch moments.

He became the fifth player in history to attempt at least 10 threes per game while drilling at least 39% of them – joining Curry, Lillard, Klay Thompson, and Buddy Hield. All sharpshooters.

Then, once the double-teams started ramping up for Edwards, what did he do? He went to the film room to study how Luka Doncic processes those difficult situations and started implementing pieces of Luka’s game.

Who thinks this way at 23 years old? It’s why Ant Man is one of the coolest figures in sports.

Cleveland fans do have a legitimate gripe: It seems unfair to penalize Mitchell for taking a step back in offensive production for the sake of helping his teammates grow. After all, that’s the name of the game.

Mitchell is still an elite guard and the leader of a 64-win juggernaut. The Cavaliers took control of the Eastern Conference’s number one seed 165 days ago, on Halloween, and never looked back. Those guys often get rewarded. I just classified Curry and Edwards’ individual seasons as slightly better.

Curry put the finishing touches on another spectacular campaign, notching his 10th season averaging at least 24 points on 60% true shooting or better. Only Kevin Durant (11) has more throughout NBA history. That’s it.

The advanced metrics still adore Curry, as he ranks sixth in the NBA in Estimated Plus-Minus (EPM) this season. Strictly offensively, he’s third behind only the MVP front-runners. He definitely has a case.

Ultimately, I went with Edwards. The availablity can’t be ignored. He’s played 600 more minutes than Curry and Mitchell, all while carrying a bit more defensive responsibility.

All-NBA Second Team

Both Curry and Mitchell’s cases were outlined in the section above. If either of them land on the First Team when voting is revealed next month, they will be justifiable selections.

Over the last 29 games (nearly 40% of the season), Curry is fourth in the NBA in points on 57.7%-39.2%-92.3% modern shooting splits. His gravity is still a thing of beauty, dragging multiple defenders away from the paint every time he flies off a down-screen.

With how dominant the Warriors have been since the arrival of Jimmy Butler – who isn’t even in the top 50 scorers during that span – they needed a representative on the First or Second Team. Golden State has a +10.0 net rating since the trade deadline, playing at a 61-win pace. Curry’s resurgence is the primary reason.

Now, we’re getting into some first-timers! Welcome to the All-NBA teams, Cade Cunningham and Evan Mobley. Both have ironclad cases to be featured. It’s simply a matter of which team they’ll land on.

Cunningham is the third-youngest in NBA history to average at least 26 point and nine assists for a full season. The two others were Trae Young in 2020 and Oscar Robertson in 1961, and both were on teams substantially below .500. More specificially, Young led a 20-47 Hawks team that didn’t qualify to attend the NBA’s bubble, and Robertson’s 33-46 Cincinatti Royals group obviously didn’t make the playoffs.

The Pistons’ turnaround was spearheaded by Cunningham’s massive steps forward on both sides of the ball. More than anything, he just appears comfortable out there. Regardless of the defensive coverage he faces, the number of bodies thrown his way, or which direction the opponent tries to force him, his patience really stands out.

He clearly entered this year with the goal of being more intentional operating out of the pick-and-roll. The Pistons have reaped the benefits of his aggression.

Between his scoring and playmaking, Cunningham helped produce 49.5 points per game. It ranked third in the NBA, behind only Trae Young (53.2) and Nikola Jokic (56.4) – and Cunningham is the only member of that group who was part of a top 10 defensive team this season.

Only seven guys finished with more 30-point games than Cunningham. Those were SGA, Jokic, Antetokounmpo, Tatum, Edwards, Luka Doncic, and Devin Booker. Five of them were All-NBA locks, while Doncic didn’t play enough games and Booker’s team was such an embarrassment that it effectively disqualified him from All-NBA consideration.

As for Evan Mobley’s case, need I say more than presenting Cleveland’s surprising resume this season after many projected them in the 50-win range? Nobody expected the Cavs to have their best season in franchise history (by point differential), and Mobley is arguably their most important player.

What’s clear is how much quicker Mobley’s processing speed has become, and how comfortable he appears with the ball in the middle of the floor. Put a smaller defender on him and he’s bullying his way to a bucket with excellent footwork and improved strength in the post. Guard him with a slower or less athletic big man and he’s taking them off the dribble. Smother him by getting extra physical when he’s near the elbow and he’s hitting one of the many cutters Cleveland has darting to the rim – thanks to Kenny Atkinson’s exciting new system.

Mobley’s shooting growth is real, and we should all be excited for what this season foreshadowed about his future. He managed to quadruple his previous career-high for three-pointers in a season, shooting 37% on nearly four attempts per 36 minutes.

Oh, and that’s just a supplement to Mobley’s supreme interior scoring. Among all 40 players in the NBA to attempt at least 300 shots in the restricted area, he ranked third in conversion rate (76.2%).

While I do believe Mobley’s case for Defensive Player of the Year is a tad overrated, he’s still the most versatile and important defender of a team holding opponents to 93.3 points per 100 possessions in the halfcourt since February 1. That’s nearly half the season of ranking second defensively.

Mobley can switch and hold his own against 99% of the league. There are exceptions, as we saw in a few matchups this year. But there’s a reason Cleveland’s double-big lineup has excelled. None of it works without Mobley’s malleability.

Is there anything left to say about LeBron James?

At 40 years old and 1,849 career games – read that a few times to digest how much of a lunatic he is – the productivity remains laughable.

Out of all 22 years he’s been in the NBA, this season was only his 16th-highest in terms of per-minute scoring average. Because, well … duh – he’s getting old.

But it was James’ third-highest in assists per minute and seventh-highest in rebounds per minute. I choose to frame it that way for a reason. It reinforces the fact James still has plenty left in the tank despite his NBA career starting four years before the first iPhone released.

For a quick laugh, take a look at the oldest players in NBA history to average at least 24 points on the efficiency James has this year. He beat his own record … twice!

If you could quibble with one thing, it would be James’ on-court impact for the Lakers, at least during the early stages of the season. The Lakers had a strange October through January, and James found himself with a negative net rating. Sure, a lot of that was him trying to carry poorly constructed bench units and the Lakers not having a quality rotation.

But does it feel weird that James will be an All-NBA member despite ranking 100th out of 147 high-minute players in terms of on-court point differential? Admittedly, it does.

That’s why if you wanted to knock him down to the third team, it would be reasonable.

It doesn’t change the fact he’s been the leader of one of the main title contenders, at least in the West. You can’t tell the story of this NBA season without mentioning LeBron somewhere in the first chapter. That’s why he belongs.

All-NBA Third Team

If the season extended a few more weeks, Jaren Jackson might have fallen off the list. That’s really only a product of the Grizzlies’ recent tailspin. But I’m giving him the nod.

Jackson is one of only five players this season with at least 100 blocks and 100 made threes. Among that group, he’s the most prolific scorer by a wide margin.

When Memphis turned to him, hoping he could rescue their halfcourt offense when times got tough, he delivered. Whether that was in isolation or stretching the floor to provide spacing, his scoring efforts often made the Grizzlies look better than they are.

Nobody loves the floater range more than Jackson, either. He took 552 shots between 5-15 feet this season, classified as non-rim paint attempts. And it was an efficient diet for him, too, making 51.4% of those. His slow-motion drives and finishes, with either hand, are always fun to watch.

Jackson’s outside touch finally came back to him when Memphis needed it most. The last six months were a roller-coaster for the Grizzlies, falling from the No. 2 seed to the play-in tournament and firing three coaches in the process.

At the same time, Jackson remained an integral part of their success when Ja Morant was unavailable – which is far more frequent than it should be. With all of the Western Conference seeds four through eight bunched together in the 47-49 win range, there shouldn’t be a problem fitting Jackson on this list.

Jalen Brunson and Karl Towns are no-brainer selections for the Knicks. Even if Jaylen Brown hit the 65-game mark, I don’t think Boston would get two guys. Which, yes, that feels strange considering how much better of a team the Celtics were.

Brunson can still get anywhere he wants to go, which might be the most impressive feature of his superstardom. The fact he can score so efficiently in clutch scenarios, despite being swarmed by overloading defenses, is what separates him from most guards. Brunson has shot 42-of-67 from two-point range during the last five minutes of close games (margin within five points). That’s a ridiculous 62.7% – which I had to triple-check because no guard of his size should be that lethal.

Meanwhile, what KAT did in his first season with the Knicks was stupendeous, particularly as a rebounder. For an often-criticized player to be in his 10th professional year and deciding to become one of the world’s best defensive rebound machines is among the coolest stories of 2025. Towns jumped from a 22.6% rebound rate last year to 31.9% this season. That change was imperative for the Knicks, especially considering how much they would struggle with their base defensive coverages with Towns at center.

Aside from the rebounding, Towns had a rough defensive showing. But you simply can’t find any centers to supply high-volume scoring on 56%-42%-83% modern splits. Those type of players don’t grow on trees. Helping propel New York to another 50-win season, Towns should be considered a lock here.

Full transparency: I was tempted to swap Tyrese Haliburton and Cade Cunningham. So, for the record, the margin between those two is razor thin.

In a vaccum, most people would still take Haliburton because he’s the more efficient player and better offensive engine. After all, Haliburton just set his career-low for turnover percentage (9.8%), while Cunningham is still struggling in that department at 16.0% this season.

In the end, leaning toward Cunningham felt like the right move because there’s real value in carrying a heavier responsibility while helping your team soar past expectations. You just rarely see statistical seasons at age 23 or younger like Cunningham produced.

However, we must acknowledge Haliburton had a phenomenal season. He was the most effective scorer out of pick-and-roll actions, scoring 1.11 points per possession among all guys with at least 300 opportunities. Yes, slightly higher than Gilgeous-Alexander.

Haliburton shot 58.3% on his drives this season, ranking first among all players to log at least 700 drives.

He’s also progressing back to the level of shooter we witnessed during his first three seasons. On pull-up triples, he improved from 34.6% last year to 37.4% during this campaign. That ranked fourth among all players to attempt at least 300 threes off the dribble.

You might read those metrics and heavily argue he should be Second Team All-NBA. That’s totally fair, and he might land there. Indiana has skyrocketed up the standings, clinching homecourt in a series for the first time since 2014. Haliburton’s playstyle and leadership have been paramount to ushering in this new era of Pacers basketball.

Again, I leaned Cunningham by maybe one percentage point because I expected Detroit to be in the running for another top lottery pick. It was close between these two.

Now, for the two Clippers who have a valid argument.

Yes, it’s true – James Harden was the Clippers’ engine for majority of this season. The team wouldn’t be positioned where it is – securing its 14th consecutive year with a winning record – without his expert playmaking and attention to detail. Harden’s Clippers tenure has been a splendid reminder of his intelligence and ability to lift a franchise’s floor in the regular season.

But if we’re splitting hairs, which is essentially the whole exercise of selecting All-NBA Third Team, Zubac deserves the nod over his teammate. Barely.

Considering Zubac is my pick for Defensive Player of the Year, it was mandatory to include him. He’s earned every bit of the national love he’ll receive over the next few weeks during the Clippers’ playoff run.

Zubac increased his scoring output by 66% compared to last year. It only took him until February 23 to surpass last season’s scoring mark.

Even more impressively, he ranked 49th last year in restricted area buckets per game. Now? He’s ninth, finishing at a similar efficiency to Nikola Jokic and Anthony Davis.

Not even Zubac thought he would become such an automatic post-up scorer, leading the league at 59.3% on post-up chances.

In addition to those contributions, he’s tied for second in the NBA in rebound percentage (the proportion of available rebounds a player grabs while on the floor). It’s one of the biggest reasons he’s a defensive stalwart, along with his rim protection.

Zubac has contested the third-most shots at the rim among all centers, yet he remains in the top 10 in terms of efficiency allowed – better than Evan Mobley, Myles Turner, and Anthony Davis.

So, yes, Zubac deserves to make the Third Team.

However, choosing him over Alperen Sengun took me a few days. The Rockets certainly need to have their season recognized on the awards ballot. In no universe did rational thinkers expect Houston to jump from missing the play-in tournament last April to this year’s No. 2 seed.

The truth is, Houston’s success is more about their collective teamwork, new culture, and everyone fully buying into their roles. That’s why I’m picking Ime Udoka as Coach of the Year.

Both Sengun and Zubac have been dynamite since the All-Star break. But when I noticed Zubac’s unreal two-way impact, along with the Clippers outscoring teams by 12.3 points per 100 possessions during his minutes, it was a simple choice:

Aren’t those numbers unbelievable for a guy only making $18.1 million this season and $19.5 million next year? Zubac in on the best bargain contract in the league and there’s no close runner-up.

Leaving off Jalen Williams feels morally wrong. It just does.

Oklahoma City posted the NBA’s greatest all-time point differential. In any normal year, they deserve two players. But this wasn’t a normal campaign for the Thunder, with one of their best defensive players, Chet Holmgren, only playing 32 games. If Holmgren had been healthy all year, he probably finishes in the top two of Defensive Player of the Year and becomes the Thunder’s second candidate for All-NBA.

Williams took an important jump this year in volume, absorbing a higher usage while accepting that his efficiency would drop – and it did. Still, he’s been awesome and is primed for a deep playoff run.

It should hold some weight that OKC’s lineups with Williams on the floor and Gilgeous-Alexander off only produced a +3.3 net rating. That was across a large sample size of 1,600 possessions. That’s only one data point. But it does factor into the equation.

Williams deserved his All-Star nod that he received in February. He was fantastic and helped OKC build a firm cushion in the West standings. So, this isn’t taking anything away from him. He’ll get his fair share of awards and recongitions later in his career.

For now, this is just Zubac’s time to shine.

Honorable mentions and apologies to: Alperen Sengun, Jalen Williams, James Harden, Trae Young, Pascal Siakam, and Darius Garland.

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