For each of the past five years, Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Dončić has received a spot on the All-NBA first team. Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant was on the All-NBA second team last year, while Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard was on the All-NBA third team in 2022-23. Durant, Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid and Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant were all on the All-NBA second team in 2021-22 as well.
None of them may even be eligible to make the All-NBA team this year.
Starting in the 2023-24 NBA season, players had to play at least 65 games—while logging at least 20 minutes in all but two of those games—to be eligible for the All-NBA teams or year-end awards such as Most Valuable Player and Defensive Player of the Year. The NBA implemented that rule to incentivize stars to play in more games and reduce load management, but it’s having major unintended consequences.
Certain players qualify for larger contract extensions by making an All-NBA team. Those who don’t reach the 65-game minimum not only miss out on their own megadeals, but they open the door for another player to become eligible for one. That trickle-down effect could have major team-building consequences across the league, particularly now that we’re in the second-apron era.
The Near-Misses
Durant has played in 62 games this season, although he’s set to miss at least the next two after suffering an ankle sprain in Sunday’s blowout loss to the Houston Rockets. The Suns will have only four games left in the regular season at that point, which means he’ll need to suit up for at least three of those four to become eligible for an All-NBA team.
New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson is likewise on the fringe of All-NBA eligibility. He played 61 games before suffering an ankle sprain in an overtime loss to the Lakers on March 6 that has sidelined him ever since. Brunson told reporters Sunday that he’s “hoping to play before the playoffs,” but he added “the most important thing is trying to be 100 percent healthy” for the postseason.
After Wednesday’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Knicks will have only six games left in the regular season. They’re nearly locked into the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference, too. They’re eight games behind the Boston Celtics and four games ahead of the Indiana Pacers, so they might prioritize resting starters over the final week-and-a-half of the regular season to keep everyone fresh for the playoffs.
Celtics wing Jaylen Brown finds himself in a similar boat. He’s at 59 games played this season, although he has missed five of the Celtics’ past nine games due to a right knee injury. He’ll need to play in six of their final seven regular-season games—although he could play between 15-20 minutes in two of them—to become eligible for an All-NBA team.
Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, who’s now at 62 games played, should sneak over the 65-game requirement. The same can’t be said for his teammate, Damian Lillard, who has played only 58 games and is sidelined indefinitely due to deep vein thrombosis. He’d have to play in all seven of the Bucks’ remaining games to become eligible for All-NBA.
Lillard has plenty of company in the ineligible department. Dončić can play no more than 51 games this season. Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving played 50 games before suffering a torn ACL in early March. His new teammate, Anthony Davis, has played only 47 games thus far. Davis, Irving and Lillard were all All-Stars this season, but none of them will be eligible for an All-NBA team.
San Antonio Spurs wunderkind Victor Wembanyama, who made his first All-Star team this year, played only 46 games before a DVT shut him down for the season. Embiid, Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey and Sixers forward Paul George, all three of whom made the All-Star Game last season, have each missed at least 20 games this year.
Golden State Warriors forward Jimmy Butler, a six-time All-Star, has played in only 48 games thus far. Morant, who made the All-Star team both in 2021-22 and 2022-23, is at 46. Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard, a six-time All-Star and six-time All-NBA honoree, is at 31. All three will be ineligible for the All-NBA teams as well.
So… Who’s Left?
The good news is that the All-NBA first team should be fairly easy to fill with eligible candidates. Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić, Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell, Celtics forward Jayson Tatum and Antetokounmpo are all deserving of the recognition.
It starts to get tricky after that, particularly if Brunson and Durant are ineligible.
Lakers forward LeBron James, Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham and Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley likely would be in the All-NBA conversation even without the eligibility requirement. They’re facing far less competition than they otherwise would for those spots, though.
A few stars could join the pool of eligible candidates between now and the end of the regular season. Sacramento Kings big man Domantas Sabonis has played 63 games to date, although he played fewer than 20 minutes in two of those. He’ll need to play at least 20 minutes in two of the Kings’ remaining seven regular-season games to become eligible for All-NBA, which should be a relatively low bar for him to clear. The same goes for Warriors guard Stephen Curry, who’s at 63 games played after his 52-point eruption against the Grizzlies on Tuesday.
Most of the players who figure to make the All-NBA team this year are either under long-term contracts or are already eligible for a 35% max deal by virtue of having 10-plus years of NBA experience. The glaring exception is Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr., who’d become eligible for a five-year, $345 million supermax deal this offseason with an All-NBA nod. If Jackson doesn’t get named to an All-NBA team, the Grizzlies can only offer him a four-year, $146.8 million extension unless they renegotiate his contract first.
Mobley also stands to cash in with an All-NBA nod. According to Spotrac, he has Designated Rookie language in the five-year max extension that he signed with the Cavaliers last summer, which could bump it from 25% of next year’s salary cap to either 27.5% or 30%. A 25% max would be worth $224.2 million, while the 30% max would be $269.1 million, which is nearly a $45 million difference.
The Cavs have no recourse if Mobley does qualify for a larger extension, but Jackson could put the Grizzlies in a tricky spot this summer if he makes an All-NBA team. Would they be willing to offer him a full 35% max with Morant and Desmond Bane also on max deals? Would he be willing to meet them somewhere in the middle? Or would he prefer to become an unrestricted free agent in 2026, especially with multiple teams seemingly trying to carve out enough cap space for a max contract that offseason?
Having a games-played minimum for year-end awards wouldn’t be as problematic if there weren’t financial incentives tied to those honors. The NBA may unwittingly create difficult offseason decisions for some of its teams because of that rule, though.
Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Spotrac and salary-cap information via RealGM. All odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.
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