All-NBA teams headlined by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Victor Wembanyama, Nikola Jokić

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Victor Wembanyama, the centerpieces of the teams competing in a breathtaking Western Conference finals, were both named to the All-NBA First Team on Sunday.

The NBA announced the three All-NBA teams on NBC before Game 4 of the series between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs.

Gilgeous-Alexander, who was named MVP for the second consecutive year earlier this week, made All-NBA for the fourth straight year. All of his appearances have been on the First Team. He is looking to join Michael Jordan and LeBron James as the only players to be named MVP and Finals MVP in back-to-back years since the latter award was first handed out in 1969.

Wembanyama, already revealed as the unanimous Defensive Player of the Year and the only unanimous All-Defense First Team pick, made his first All-NBA team. He was not eligible last year, as he fell short of the 65-game threshold. Denver’s Jamal Murray, Detroit’s Jalen Duren, Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren, Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey and Atlanta’s Jalen Johnson also made their first All-NBA teams, all making the Third Team.

Gilgeous-Alexander and Wembanyama were joined on the First Team by Denver’s Nikola Jokić, the Los Angeles Lakers’ Luka Dončić and Detroit’s Cade Cunningham. This is Jokić’s sixth First Team spot and eighth consecutive All-NBA appearance, the longest active streak in the league. Both he and Gilgeous-Alexander were unanimous First-Team selections, with Wembanyama on the Second Team on one ballot.

Both Dončić and Cunningham were eligible to be named after winning “extraordinary circumstances” challenges at the end of the year. Dončić played 64 games, missing two when he returned to Slovenia for the birth of his daughter. Cunningham also played 64, missing 11 because of a collapsed lung.

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Anthony Edwards, who played 60 games, also made a challenge but was denied.

Kevin Durant made his 12th All-NBA appearance, the most among this year’s honorees, winding up on the Second Team. Boston’s Jaylen Brown, the LA Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard, Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell and New York’s Jalen Brunson joined him.

This is just the second time James did not make an All-NBA team. James played only 60 games, so he was not eligible for a spot. He also missed in his rookie season, when he finished eighth in voting among forwards, with only the top six getting spots.

Multi-time All-NBA players such as Edwards, Steph Curry, Joel Embiid, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Devin Booker, Anthony Davis and Jayson Tatum also fell short of the 65-game threshold.

All-NBA teams

First Team: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokić, Victor Wembanyama, Luka Dončić, Cade Cunningham

Second Team: Jaylen Brown, Kawhi Leonard, Donovan Mitchell, Kevin Durant, Jalen Brunson

Third Team: Tyrese Maxey, Jamal Murray, Jalen Johnson, Jalen Duren, Chet Holmgren

Biggest takeaway

If you want to make an All-NBA team, you’d better play on a winning team. Of the 15 players to get a spot, 13 played for teams that finished in the top six of their conferences. Only Leonard of the 42-40 Clippers and Maxey of the 45-37 76ers made it after having to deal with the Play-In Tournament. And if you can’t make the Play-In, forget about it: Of the 27 players who got at least one All-NBA vote, only Cooper Flagg played for a team that missed the postseason altogether.

Meanwhile, only two teams that finished in the top six of their conferences failed to have a representative. The Minnesota Timberwolves didn’t have one because of Edwards’ ineligibility — none of his teammates got a vote — while the Toronto Raptors’ Scottie Barnes finished 18th in voting with nine Third-Team votes, and Brandon Ingram also got one Third-Team vote. Even then, winning might have been the tiebreaker for many voters, as Detroit and Oklahoma City, the two No. 1 seeds, got the players who finished 14th (Duren) and 15th (Holmgren) in voting.

Biggest surprise

Duren making the Third Team was not a surprise, per se. He averaged 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game this season, was a top Most Improved Player candidate and helped the Pistons keep winning when they lost Cunningham to a collapsed lung.

It will be a talking point, though. By making All-NBA, Duren, who will enter restricted free agency in the summer, is eligible for a new contract with the Pistons starting at 30 percent of the salary cap. However, Duren had a rough playoffs, averaging just 10.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, sometimes not closing games for Detroit.

It is a reminder that All-NBA votes are based on the regular season, and that the regular season only defines you so much.

Biggest snub

It’s hard to argue with the 15 players who made it. Even Holmgren, who averaged a comparatively paltry 17.1 points and 8.9 rebounds per game, is one of the most impactful defenders in the league. Beyond him and Duren, we’re largely talking about players with video game statistics.

But you have to feel for Deni Avdija, who averaged 24.2 points, 6.9 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game. His Portland Trail Blazers were also much better with him on the floor than off it, too. Toronto’s Barnes, who was named to the All-Defense Second Team (and had a case to be First Team) on Friday, also deserved a long look.