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On the heels of receiving his third career league MVP trophy, Nuggets center Nikola Jokic was unsurprisingly named First Team All-NBA for the 2023-24 season on Wednesday.
Jokic has received All-NBA honors in six consecutive years, including four First Team appearances. He was on the Second Team last season despite finishing second in MVP voting — making him the last in a long tradition of awkward awards contradictions before the league’s new collective bargaining agreement established position-less All-NBA ballots.
This is the first year that zero or multiple centers can appear on the First Team, Second Team or Third Team. Under the old voting system, each of the three teams consisted of two guards, two forwards and one center.
Jokic, 29, averaged 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds and nine assists per game during the regular season, compiling 25 triple-doubles and shooting 58.3% from the field. The Nuggets outscored their opponents by 11.8 points per 100 possessions when Jokic was on the floor. They were outscored by 8.6 points per 100 possessions when he wasn’t on the floor, amounting to a 20.4-point difference in net rating.
But Denver’s Jokic-led starting lineup decomposed in the playoffs, culminating in a shocking Game 7 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday and a disappointing end to the season. The Nuggets were outscored by eight points with Jokic on the court in the second-round series.
Between Games 2 and 3 of the series, Jokic became the ninth three-time MVP in NBA history. During his six-year All-NBA run, only Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo has joined him in making the prestigious list each of those seasons. With Wednesday’s announcement, Antetokounmpo and Luka Doncic have both made the First Team in five consecutive years.
Two Nuggets players also received votes for the 2023-24 All-Defensive Teams that were announced this week, but neither made the final cut. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope earned 11 votes for the Second Team, making him the seventh player on the outside looking in. Aaron Gordon gathered six votes for the Second Team.
With those omissions, Jokic completes the ninth season of his career still having never seen a teammate make an All-NBA team, All-Defensive team or All-Star team. Jamal Murray was not eligible for All-NBA honors this season under another new CBA guideline that mandates a 65-games-played minimum in order to appear on ballots. Murray, who navigated a string of minor injuries throughout the season, played in 59 regular-season games.
Complete All-NBA Team, 2023-24
First Team
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder
Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets
Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
Second Team
Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks
Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers
Kevin Durant, Phoenix Suns
Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves
Kawhi Leonard, Los Angeles Clippers
Third Team
Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns
Steph Curry, Golden State Warriors
Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana Pacers
LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers
Domantas Sabonis, Sacramento Kings
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