he Lakers might have been a play-in team and lost once again to the Nuggets in the playoffs, but the stars delivered all season long.
LeBron James continues to defy the odds and play at the highest level we’ve ever seen for a Year 21 player. Anthony Davis had arguably his best season in purple and gold and finally became the undisputed best player on the team.
The league rewarded the dynamic duo by officially recognizing them as All-NBA players on Wednesday, with James being named to the Third Team and Davis making the Second Team.
2023-24 All-NBA:
1st: Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luka Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum
2nd: Jalen Brunson, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, Anthony Edwards, Kawhi Leonard
3rd: Devin Booker, Stephen Curry, Tyrese Haliburton, LeBron James, Domantas Sabonis
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 22, 2024
James received one First Team All-NBA vote and 65 Second Team votes. He was also named on 54 Third Team ballots, for a grand total of 164 votes, just 66 behind Davis.
Davis received one First Team All-NBA vote as well as 65 Second Team votes. He was named on 30 Third Team ballots to finish with a grand total of 230 votes.
The complete voting results for the 2023-24 Kia All-NBA Team: pic.twitter.com/KrG4Fjc9pW
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) May 22, 2024
It’s James’ 20th All-NBA honor during his career. His rookie season is the only instance in which he was not named to an All-NBA team. It’s his fourth All-NBA Third Team selection, all of which have occurred during his time with the Lakers.
This season, James averaged 25.7 points, 8.3 assists and 7.3 rebounds leading the team in both points and assists. He played an astonishing 71 games, his most ever as a Laker and was named an All-Star starter for the Western Conference.
For Davis, this is his fifth All-NBA honor and his second as a Laker. He earned it in arguably his best season in purple and gold, averaging a double-double with 24.7 points and 12.6 rebounds per game. AD was also the second-highest in the league in stocks with 287, which is one of the many reasons he was also named to the All-Defense First Team this year.
This is the second time LeBron and AD have been named All-NBA while playing for the Lakers, with the first instance occurring in the 2019-20 season, when they won the championship.