Jalen Brunson

2024/25 All-NBA Teams Announced

The 2024/25 All-NBA teams have been officially announced by the league (Twitter link).

A total of 100 media members voted on the All-NBA teams, with First Team votes counting for five points, Second Team votes counting for three points, and Third Team votes counting for one point.

This year’s All-NBA teams are as follows:

First Team

Second Team

Third Team

The top four vote-getters, Antetounmpo, Gilgeous-Alexander, Jokic, and Tatum, were all unanimous selections to the First Team. James led the Second Team with 17 First Team votes, compared to Mitchell’s 61. Cunningham was the only member of the Third Team to receive First Team votes (six) — he also earned 10 more Second Team votes than the next closest vote-getter, as Towns had 40.

This announcement marks the first All-NBA selections for Cunningham, Mobley, and Williams, and – on the other side of the coin – the 21st consecutive selection for James. No other player in NBA history has been named to more than 15 All-NBA teams.

Curry set a franchise record with his 11th All-NBA selection. Edwards became just the fourth Timberwolves player to be named to multiple All-NBA teams, joining Kevin Garnett, Kevin Love, and Towns.

Other players who received votes, along with their respective point totals, were the RocketsAlperen Sengun (58), the GrizzliesJaren Jackson Jr. (55), the ClippersIvica Zubac (15), the CavaliersDarius Garland (6), the KingsDomantas Sabonis (4), the PacersPascal Siakam (4), the Heat‘s Bam Adebayo (3), the HawksTrae Young (3), and the SunsDevin Booker (2).

The Cavs, Knicks, and Thunder were the only teams to feature multiple All-NBA players. Both the Thunder and Knicks are currently playing in the conference finals for a shot at advancing to the NBA finals.

This is the second year that All-NBA teams have been positionless and have required players to meet a 65-game minimum to qualify for consideration.

Several players, starting with Cunningham, gained or lost eligibility for salary increases due to the All-NBA results. We have more details here.

Knicks Notes: Starting Five, Communication, Brunson, More

After suffering one of the worst late-game collapses in NBA playoff history on Wednesday, the Knicks weren’t willing to simply flush that game without taking a closer look at how they let that Pacers comeback happen, writes Zach Braziller of The New York Post. Head coach Tom Thibodeau and multiple Knicks players spoke on Thursday about the need to learn from Wednesday’s mistakes.

“It was just (those) last five minutes, learning from it, just owning up to it and knowing what we have to do better,” Mikal Bridges said. “Obviously, we want that game back. But it’s a seven-game series, so come out, be better, but hopefully finish the next game.”

As devastating as the Game 1 loss was, Bridges described the team’s vibes on Thursday as “good” and said the energy level was “pretty high.” Thibodeau, meanwhile, expressed confidence in his club’s ability to not let the momentum the Pacers gained with their dramatic overtime win carry over to Game 2.

“I think that’s the playoffs, that’s the challenge,” Thibodeau said. “You always have to reset. There’s gonna be a lot of emotional highs and lows and you’ve gotta be able to take a punch and you’ve gotta be able to bounce back. So that’s all we’re thinking about is how we move forward, be ready for the next challenge, and then what did you learn from it?”

Here’s more on the Knicks, who will be looking to even up the Eastern Conference Finals at one game apiece on Friday:

  • In a separate story for the New York Post, Braziller takes a closer look at the unflattering postseason data on the Knicks’ starting lineup. The five-man group – made up of Bridges, Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, OG Anunoby, and Karl-Anthony Towns – was outscored by 16 points on Wednesday and has a -8.0 net rating in 292 playoff minutes. Asked on Thursday about a possible lineup tweak, Tom Thibodeau said “everything is always on the table” but didn’t sound like a man preparing to make a change, per Braziller. “You also need players that are effective with the bench unit and then what starters are you gonna play with the bench unit,” Thibodeau said. “So I think it’s twofold.”
  • The Knicks, who have spoken multiple times in the postseason about the way in which communication breakdowns have caused problems for them, echoed that message after Game 1, notes Jared Schwartz of The New York Post. “I think we let off a little bit, and then we stopped talking to each other. Just a little miscommunication,” Bridges said on Thursday. “They got some threes and obviously (Aaron) Nesmith made a lot of shots. But we made it easy — didn’t make it harder. He stayed hot and we miscommunicated and he made a couple more, some rhythm ones.” Asked on Thursday about an animated late-game argument between Anunoby and Towns about a miscommunication, Brunson downplayed the moment, describing it as “just guys talking.”
  • Brunson averaged about two fouls per game during the regular season but has seen that average jump to 3.5 per game in the postseason. He fouled out of Game 5 vs. Boston and picked up his fifth foul early in the fourth quarter on Wednesday vs. Indiana, Schwartz writes for The Post. “It’s just me being smart and understanding, offensively and defensively, what I have to do better,” Brunson said of addressing that issue. “It is what it is, you just gotta be smart.”
  • Not playing at the level they’re capable of for a full 48 minutes has been a recurring problem for the Knicks throughout the regular season and playoffs for the Knicks, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic, who writes that the club will once again have to prove that it’s made for this moment.

Knicks Notes: Game 1, Brunson, Towns, Anunoby, Lineup

New York fans were stunned to silence following the Knicks‘ late-game collapse in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, writes James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. It was a historic loss: the Knicks were up 14 points with 2:51 remaining, and NBA playoff teams were 977-0 in those situations since 1997. They also led by nine with a minute left — no postseason team had lost a game in that position since 1998 (1,414-0). Now there’s a one on both of those tallies.

We didn’t do what we needed to do; otherwise, we’d be in here talking about a whole different ballgame,” center Karl-Anthony Towns said after Wednesday’s game. “There’s a lot of things we did good, to put ourselves in the position to win. It’s just about … and I’ve said this multiple times, executing and discipline for 48 minutes.

We played 46 good minutes. Those last two minutes is where we lost the game. That’s on all of us.”

As Chris Herring of ESPN.com writes, the Pacers and Knicks had both completed multiple double-digit playoff comebacks on their way to the conference final matchup. But Game 1 — which New York lost in overtime after a series of miscues — had the Knicks in the unenviable position of blowing the lead.

Defensively, we let off the gas. The intensity and physicality weren’t there,” wing Josh Hart said. “Offensively, we were playing slower, and more stagnant. It looked like we were playing not to lose.”

Here’s more on the Knicks:

  • While Clutch Player of the Year Jalen Brunson finished with a game-high 43 points, he also committed seven turnovers, including three late in the game, notes Ian Begley of SNY.tv. “Obviously, it’s not a good feeling, but there is a lot of basketball left to be played,” Brunson said, per Edwards. “We can’t sulk. We just got to get better.”
  • ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne takes a look at what New York’s collapse means for the series — and for the team’s title chances. Brunson said he thought the momentum of Game 1 shifted with 4:45 remaining in the fourth quarter when he stumbled trying to get around a screen, leaving Aaron Nesmith open for a three-pointer. Nesmith went 6-of-6 on triples in the final 4:45 of regulation, including three in the final minute. “Once he hits one, you’ve got to be on high alert,” Brunson said. “I’ve got to do a better job of finding him. I think he had like one or two with me in the vicinity.”
  • Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (subscriber link) hands out grades for Game 1, with Brunson receiving a B-plus and Towns, who finished with 35 points and 12 rebounds but missed a key free throw late in regulation, getting a B-minus. Mikal Bridges, who had 16 points on 16 shots and was a game-worst minus-15 in the three-point loss while being the primary defender on Tyrese Haliburton (31 points, 11 assists), got a D from Bondy.
  • Towns and OG Anunoby appeared to get in a heated sideline argument with 34 seconds left in regulation, as Jaclyn Hendricks of The New York Post relays. Nesmith had just converted his fifth three-pointer of the quarter leading up to the incident.
  • Could the Knicks alter their starting or closing lineup for Game 2? Head coach Tom Thibodeau said “everything is always on the table” when asked about that possibility on Thursday, according to Begley, who points out (via Twitter) that the starting unit of Brunson, Bridges, Josh Hart, Anunoby and Towns has a poor net rating in the playoffs.

And-Ones: Award Announcements, Laughlin, Playoff MVPs, More

After revealing this season’s Most Valuable Player on Wednesday, the NBA will wrap up its 2024/25 award announcements within the next two days.

According to the league (Twitter link), the two All-Defensive teams will be announced on Thursday at 2:00 pm Eastern time, while the three All-NBA teams will be unveiled at 7:00 pm ET on Friday during TNT’s pregame broadcast ahead of Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

The All-NBA teams, in particular, will be worth watching, since those results can have a major impact on player contracts going forward. Pistons guard Cade Cunningham is the key player to keep an eye on — assuming he makes one of the three All-NBA teams, Cunningham’s maximum-salary rookie scale extension will begin at 30% of next season’s cap instead of 25%.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

  • Former Warriors assistant and current Pelicans coaches chief of staff James Laughlin is leaving New Orleans to take a job overseas as the new general manager of Napoli Basket in Italy, per Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com. According to Urbonas, Laughlin spent five years in Golden State and the past four with the Pelicans.
  • Chris Herring of ESPN updated his 2025 playoff MVP rankings ahead of the start of the second round, placing Knicks guard Jalen Brunson atop his list. With the conference finals underway, it’s unclear if Brunson would still claim that top spot — he scored 43 points on 15-of-25 shooting in New York’s Game 1 loss to Indiana on Wednesday, but also had more turnovers (seven) than assists (five) on the night.
  • With the NBA set to crown a seventh different champion in seven years, Colin Salao of Front Office Sports writes that the league has entered an era of unprecedented parity and wonders if super-teams have become a thing of the past.
  • Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report shares his thoughts on the biggest winners at last week’s draft combine, singling out San Diego State’s Miles Byrd, Chinese big man Hansen Yang, and four other prospects.

Knicks Notes: Brunson, Rose, ECF, Anunoby

The Knicks, playing in their first Eastern Conference Finals since 2000, have built their roster with two-time All-Star point guard Jalen Brunson at the fulcrum of the team, writes Fred Katz of The Athletic. Brunson agreed to a team-friendly three-year contract extension last offseason rather than wait to sign a full maximum-salary deal this summer to help establish long-term security. That contract will give New York significant roster-building flexibility in the years to come.

Brunson, the newly minted Clutch Player of the Year, has been a “calming” presence in late-game situations while stewarding New York’s deepest playoff run in a generation, according to All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns said.

“It’s great we have someone who has a calming demeanor like that, especially in those moments you’re talking about,” Towns said. “J.B. was the Clutch Player of the Year for a reason.”

Through the first two rounds of the playoffs, the 6’2″ pro is averaging 46.1 points per 36 minutes across clutch situations — games that are within five points with five or fewer minutes remaining in regulation or overtime.

The Knicks are currently in the midst of the first contest of their Eastern Conference Finals series against Indiana.

There’s more out of New York:

  • Knicks team president Leon Rose‘s decisions to trade most of his draft equity in exchange for the Towns and All-Defensive Team swingman Mikal Bridges in the offseason were deemed risky at the time, but have been paying dividends in a big way lately, writes Zach Braziller of The New York Post. Bridges’ two-way play has been critical through the first two rounds of the playoffs, while Towns has weathered some uneven performances and provided some big offensive moments. “To find success here in New York is something that is not for everyone, and it’s something that is very difficult to do,” Towns said earlier this week. “For us to be in this position shows that we stepped up to the challenge and [we also have] the benefit of having amazing teammates and support systems — both of us.”
  • Consulting a panel of five league experts, The New York Post’s Stefan Bondy (subscriber link) described four critical elements in the series needed for the Knicks to defeat Indiana on the eve of Game 1, including attacking Tyrese Haliburton on defense and slowing down the pace.
  • Knicks forward OG Anunoby, who has struggled with injury issues throughout his career, has been fully healthy and available during this year’s playoff run and the team is capitalizing on his availability, Bondy notes in another piece (subscriber link). Anunoby strained his hamstring during Game 2 of the Knicks’ second round slugfest against Indiana last spring, subsequently missing most of the rest of the series. Bondy opines that the absence of Anunoby, above anything else, resulted in the series being extended to seven contests and eventually lost by New York. Now, Anunoby is healthy, and primed for a rematch.

Knicks Notes: Bridges, Thibodeau, Brunson, Focus

The Knicks should prioritize an extension for Mikal Bridges this offseason, Mike Vaccaro of the New York Post opines.

While Bridges isn’t an All-Star at the level of Jalen Brunson, he’s proven his value with game-changing plays during the postseason after an underwhelming regular season, Vaccaro writes. He’s also extremely durable. Bridges could sign a four-year extension worth up to $156MM this offseason, which would make sense for both sides. However, Bridges could choose to wait until free agency in 2026 with the hope of getting a more lucrative deal.

We have more on the Knicks:

  • Tom Thibodeau has been criticized in the past for sticking with the same formula but that hasn’t been the case in these playoffs, James Edwards III of The Athletic writes. New York made more switches defensively than it ever did during the regular season in order to throttle Boston’s attack. Thibodeau also allowed Bridges to initiate the offense more often in pick-and-rolls with Brunson on the bench. The team’s regulars have also made it to the conference finals in good health despite Thibodeau continuing to rely heavily on his starters.
  • Brunson changed his workout routine after he left the Mavericks to sign with the Knicks, his personal trainer Dave Williams told Mark Medina of RG.org. “The workouts were basically the same, but they evolved,” Williams said. “In New York, I knew he’d have the ball in his hands all the time. In Dallas, he played alongside Luka (Doncic), who was more ball-dominant. So in New York, we focused more on one-on-one moves and shooting off the dribble. We did more pick-and-roll work and had him shooting threes off the pick-and-roll. We increased the threes a lot. When I hear commentators say he got better at shooting off the dribble, that has me smiling inside.”
  • The Knicks need to take advantage of this opportunity because another one might not come along, Vaccaro writes in another column for the New York Post. While the roster is built to take multiple shots at a championship, they can’t count on getting to this spot again. Vaccaro points out that the NHL’s Rangers, who share Madison Square Garden with the Knicks, made the conference finals last season and didn’t make the playoffs this season.
  • Peter Botte of the New York Post breaks down the matchups and 10 factors that will decide the series between the Knicks and Pacers.

Knicks Notes: Bridges, Pacers Storylines, Key Moments, Hart

Mikal Bridges, acquired in a blockbuster deal with the Nets in the offseason, played a huge role in the Knicks’ second-round series triumph over the Celtics.  He averaged 14.7 points per game, including 34 total points in fourth quarters, Jared Schwartz of the New York Post notes.

He also made enormous defensive stops, stealing the ball away from Jaylen Brown to end Game 1 and intercepting a Jayson Tatum pass to end Game 2. Bridges is thirsting for more as the Knicks enter the Eastern Conference Finals against the Pacers.

“There’s more to go,” Bridges said. “We’re not done. That’s what it is. We came out there [Friday night] to play hard and handle business, but our season’s not over. We’ve got so much more to go and we play on Wednesday, so get ready to prepare for them. Whole different team and a whole new series.”

We have more on the Knicks:

  • They, of course, will be looking to avenge last season’s second-round series loss to the Pacers, in which they blew a 2-0 lead. However, the Knicks were riddled with injuries by that point. In contrast, New York has all its pieces entering this series, Schwartz points out. Pace and three-point shooting will also be key components to the series, he adds.
  • How did the Knicks turn into a contender? Post columnist Mike Vaccaro takes a closer look at how they were built, starting with the hires of Leon Rose as president of basketball operations and Tom Thibodeau as head coach. From a roster standpoint, the team’s zeal to sign Jalen Brunson in free agency in 2022 proved to be the pivotal decision.
  • Fiery, hard-nosed wing Josh Hart has become a huge fan favorite and his popularity continues to grow, according to Vaccaro, who says the photo of Hart with a defiant look on his bloodied face after he caught an errant elbow epitomizes the toughness and grit of the team.

Knicks Notes: Towns, Starting Five, Robinson, Achiuwa

After averaging 24.4 points and 16.9 field goal tries per game during the regular season, Karl-Anthony Towns has attempted 17 or more shots in just three of 11 playoff outings so far this spring and has been held below 24 points in all five games in the Knicks‘ second-round series vs. Boston.

Towns was limited to 5-of-11 shooting from the field in New York’s Game 5 loss, with many of his 19 points coming in the fourth quarter with the game out of reach, prompting Stefan Bondy of The New York Post and Ian Begley of SNY.tv to write that the Knicks need to find a way to unlock Towns and get him more involved in the offensive game plan.

Towns shot 42.0% on 4.7 three-point attempts per game during the regular season but has gone just 2-of-13 in five games against Boston. He suggested after Game 5 that the decline in his shots from beyond the arc has been by design, per Begley.

“I haven’t really been out there really. Haven’t had the chance to shoot. We’ve just been trying to do our game plan and I’m just trying to execute at the highest level,” Towns said. “So I’m trying to do most of my damage inside and do whatever my team asks of me.”

As Begley points out, Towns made just one outside shot in his first two games against Detroit in the conference quarterfinals before knocking down nine and scoring 58 total points in Games 3 and 4, so there’s a recent precedent for him bouncing back and coming up big when the Knicks need him most.

Here’s more on the Knicks ahead of Friday’s Game 6:

  • Despite being built around a strong starting five, the Knicks haven’t been as dominant with Towns, Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, and Josh Hart on the court as hoped. That lineup had just a +1.9 net rating in 330 minutes from Christmas Day through the end of the regular season and has posted a -7.3 mark in the playoffs, including -16.3 in the second round. With that in mind, Fred Katz of The Athletic considers whether or not a starting lineup tweak makes sense.
  • The Knicks acquired Bridges and Anunoby for situations like this one, according to Chris Herring of ESPN, who looks at the impact the two standout wings have made in New York and explores how they could make a difference in Game 6.
  • Mitchell Robinson‘s 6-of-6 performance from the free throw line was a silver lining for the Knicks in Game 5 and could make him an even more valuable weapon if he can keep it up, writes Zach Braziller of The New York Post. Despite the fact that New York leads the series 3-2, Robinson’s is the only Knick who has a positive net rating (+10.6) vs. Boston.
  • The Knicks have listed big man Precious Achiuwa as questionable for Friday’s game due to a right ankle sprain. Achiwua’s status doesn’t figure to have any impact on Tom Thibodeau‘s rotation, since he has only played 15 total minutes in the series.

Knicks Notes: Brunson, Anunoby, Hart, Tucker, Robinson

A Game 4 victory over Boston on Monday brought the Knicks to within one win of their first Eastern Conference Finals appearance in 25 years. While Jalen Brunson was happy with that victory, he made a point of calming down some of his celebrating teammates at the end of the game, according to Chris Herring of ESPN.

“I was actually telling everyone to get off the court. I was like, it’s nothing to celebrate,” Brunson said.

The Knicks are well positioned to finish off the Celtics, who will be without star forward Jayson Tatum for the rest of the series after he tore his Achilles in Game 4. But Brunson recognizes that the defending champions won’t go down easily and wants his team to remember that there’s work to be done. He told reporters after Monday’s victory that the team did a good job of playing with urgency while holding a 2-1 series lead.

“I think (there) was a sense of urgency, desperation. Knowing that we had a great opportunity against a really good team,” Brunson said. “I don’t even think we’re playing our best basketball yet. We have a team that’s still fairly new this year, and we have a long way to go be the best team we can be. There’s always time to learn for us. We’re never satisfied, and that’s the mentality.”

Here’s more on the Knicks ahead of Wednesday’s Game 5:

  • OG Anunoby had an injury scare at the end of the first quarter of Game 4, holding his hamstring while leaving the court, but returned to action and was a difference-maker for the Knicks, writes Peter Botte of The New York Post. After making just 3-of-15 shots from the field in Games 2 and 3, Anunoby had 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting on Monday in what head coach Tom Thibodeau described as a “huge” performance. “Just the toughness, the timely plays, flying all over the place,” Thibodeau said. “… He’s so disruptive.”
  • Knicks forward Josh Hart was amused to receive a trophy from the NBA for being this season’s “minutes champion,” as ESPN relays (via Twitter). No qualified player averaged more minutes per game in 2024/25 than Hart’s 37.6. “Guess I got my cardio in this year,” he wrote in an Instagram story that included several crying-laughing emojis.
  • Veteran forward P.J. Tucker hasn’t played a single minute for the Knicks in the postseason after appearing in just three regular season games, but he’s still making an impact, earning a shout-out from Hart after Game 4 for his “champion” mentality, as Jared Schwartz of The New York Post relays. “The way he talks, the way he leads,” Brunson added. “Obviously, he’s been around the league a long time and he has a lot of experience and so when he talks, we listen. So, having a guy like that on our team has been remarkable for us. He’s been fantastic since he’s been there.”
  • Fred Katz of The Athletic explores the outsized impact that center Mitchell Robinson is having on the boards in a fairly limited role this series.

Knicks Notes: Stagnant Offense, Robinson, Starting Five

The Knicks know they have to create more havoc on defense to energize their offense, Jared Schwartz of the New York Post writes. Their halfcourt offense has frequently bogged down, although they’ve managed to take a 2-1 lead in the series against the Celtics. Game 4 will be held tonight.

“When you’re not causing turnovers and you’re getting the ball under the rim, taking it out every possession, it’s tough to have that speed,” forward Josh Hart said. “So we have to try to cause more turnovers, play better defense and finish possessions with rebounds and run, and even when we do take the ball out, have pace to our offense and not just be standing around being so stagnant.”

Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau had a similar viewpoint.

“I think for anybody, live-ball turnovers that put you into the open floor, get you easy baskets,” he said. “So that’s a big part of the game, and that’s the fight. I think it’s the challenge for each team to try to create as many as you can, because you know what it does for your offense. It fuels your offense.”

We have more on the Knicks:

  • Fans exasperated by Mitchell Robinson‘s free throw shooting futility got a response from the Knicks center and it’s probably not what they want to hear. Robinson posted on his Instagram Live account (hat tip to Erich Richter of the New York Post) on Sunday that he’s not interested in the fans’ opinions. “So, I know y’all commenting and doing all the stupid stuff, thinking that I really care,” he said. “I really don’t. Y’all know what I care about: this (pointing to his truck), playing basketball, and my daughter. All the other stuff, I really don’t care for. … Y’all should know me by now. Been here seven years. … Anyway, Happy Mother’s Day. Y’all enjoy yourselves.” Robinson is shooting just 28.9 percent from the free throw line during the playoffs, leading opponents to intentionally foul him during certain stretches of games.
  • The Knicks have won two games despite their starting five — Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Hart and Karl-Anthony Towns — being outscored by 29 points through the first three games, Schwartz said. “I think a big part of that is how we’re starting games and starting the second half,” Hart said. “We haven’t done a good job imposing our will into the game from the jump. That’s something that we struggled with in Detroit also, coming out of the half. There were times we had a 10-, 12-point lead and then we surrendered it in the first three, four minutes of the half. That unit, we have to come out with more sense of urgency, more desperation, more competitiveness and let everything else fall into place.”
  • Thibodeau played it coy during his pregame press conference on Monday regarding a lineup change. When asked if he might insert Robinson, the coach replied, “There’s a lot of thoughts you put into it,” James Edwards of The Athletic tweets. Asked if he would stick with his usual starting five, the coach said, “We could be.”