2025 All-NBA Teams Ballot

It's the time of the year again that brings out the worst in any NBA fan. The end of the regular season and, therefore, regular season award season is upon us, and God help us all. While I've yet to see the toxicity and negativity surrounding an award season when players such as Giannis Antetokounmpo or LeBron James are legitimately involved, this season has had its fair share, as it always will. "Debates" (if you can call them that) typically default to the most annoying Twitter insults (is anybody calling it X?), and whose echo-chamber can outlast the other. Well, it's just me on this lonely message board, and we live to prop players rather than undermine around these parts, so that's how we're going to do it.

This was originally going to be both my all-NBA team and official awards ballot, but I do that thing I do often and went way over than what needs to be said, so we’ll settle with the team portion of this exercise for now.

All-NBA First Team

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (lock), Donovan Mitchell, Jayson Tatum, Giannis Antetokounmpo (lock), Nikola Jokic (lock)

While two individuals on this first team don't have "lock" next to their name, you can all but pen them in as members of this year's first team.

I'll be going far more into the Shai vs Jokic debate later on (hm, I wonder where?), so I'll leave that on the burner for the moment. Giannis should be in the MVP race every year. Unfortunately, this year falls amid the two former players having generational seasons from efficiency and general play distinction points of view. This doesn't change the fact that Giannis is dragging an objectively bad and unlucky Bucks team without him to a top-five finish in the East and a first-round matchup against your soon-to-be champion Indiana Pacers. The Bucks are carrying an 8-7 record without him and don't have any notable wins to show for it. Pair this with the heartbreaking Damian Lillard injury earlier this year, and the Bucks should be in shambles, but Giannis is the only one keeping them afloat. I'd argue that Tatum cruised throughout the latter half of the season after an MVP-caliber start to the year and has weirdly become underrated because of it. His consistent level of play should be the envy of many unreliable superstars and is deserving of this spot because of it.

Mitchell was the only non-lock to make the first team, but was deservedly a heavy favorite. I remember being bullish on Cleveland's 15-0 start just because how teams that start so hot usually tail off once you hit that all-star break start, pair that with the uncertainty of Darius Garland's health that's tracked him throughout his career and it's a recipe for disaster but Cleveland simply never tailed off. Mitchell played in 71 of those games (most he's played since he's arrived in Cleveland) and wasn't the big stat guy you'd expect from a first-teamer, but was the centerpiece of an offense that led the NBA in offensive rating and to the 2nd highest offensive rating of all time at 121.7. His reliability as a secondary ball-handler off of Darius Garland is a safety blanket when a strong press surrounds this Cavs team in any close game, and Mitchell is one of the first four-five names you think of when you need a big shot to go-ahead in a game.

All-NBA Second Team

Evan Mobley (lock), Anthony Edwards (lock), LeBron James (lock), Cade Cunningham, Stephen Curry

Yes, yes, yes, yes, Evan Mobley is fulfilling the potential that he displayed at USC just a few short years ago. Mobley is the catalyst for a top-10 ranked defensive-rated team in the Cavs and somehow isn't the odds-on-favorite to win this year's defensive player of the year award. He's jumped three overall points per game compared to last season and is now a reliable enough off-ball mover to be the second-best player on a perennial championship contender. A struggling Timberwolves team was able to keep their heads just afloat throughout the season, and Edwards can be seen as one of the only consistent factors causing it. He ended up finishing the season with the most made threes in the NBA for the first time in his career and was able to do so at a 39.5% clip on over 10 attempts a game. LeBron is the final lock for this spot, and I have zero doubt in my mind that it's accurate. It seems like he's going half-speed at times and not out of laziness or disengagement but because the game is still just at a different pace through his lens, even at 40 years old. The King has no adhorrent weaknesses even at his age and is going to be one of the top-two concerns on a Lakers team that should be top-5 championship contenders.

Cade Cunningham felt right for this spot, but not without heavy debate. A few names I'll mention on the all-NBA third team provided competition for the Pistons guard, but the leap Cade was able to make after the wash that was last season is nothing short of incredible. While he showed flashes during his high-school days at Montverde Academy, he's truly become one of those rare players who completely elevate every player around him. He's nearly unstoppable getting to his spot when he surely commits, and his improved playmaking chops (9.1 assists per game compared to 7.5 last season) make the Pistons offense fire on all cylinders when he gets going.

Admittedly, Stephen Curry was non-existent from these teams a week or two previous the mid-season Jimmy Butler trade, but the new life the Warriors have found sent Curry back into the stratosphere where he belongs. Even outside of the numbers that support his case, Curry is still the single most fun player to watch play basketball on any given night outside of Nikola Jokic. His sheer presence alone, even at his age, is enough to put the Warriors as one of the scariest teams to play on any given night, and he can do so in limited minutes. This season recorded the lowest amount of minutes played for The Chef (save his injury-ridden 2019-2020 season) since the second year of the Kevin Durant-Warriors experiment, and his limited time provided a comfortable blanket for the Warriors to go to when the offense became stagnent (as it does often when he is off the court).

All NBA-Third Team

Jalen Brunson (lock), Jalen Williams (lock), Tyrese Haliburton, James Harden, Jaren Jackson Jr.

While I'm still not entirely sure where the outpouring of Jalen Brunson hype for the first team is coming from, it's simply impossible to exclude him from all of these lists. His performance last season seemed to be far more of a mainstay in most fans' minds, and rightfully so. The leap he was able to make and to bring an unhealthy Knicks team past relatively the same Cleveland team we are seeing this season was nothing short of incredible, and he's doing it all at just over 6 feet tall. He has remained one of the most efficient high-volume scorers the league sees on a night-to-night basis, and it would be criminal to exclude him from these regular-season teams. Jalen Williams (J-Dub, the one with the fro, wait, I mean the twisted braids, wait, never mind) has been the second-best player on the best team in the NBA, enough said. If you want to dive into it, his development into a go-to guy for the Thunder when Shai is off the floor is irreplaceable in such a stacked Western Conference. He's a player who doesn't need the ball to thrive in a legendary regular season offense, and if he continues to play at the level he has, then the Thunder should continue to be championship favorites.

I'll save everyone's ears from the Haliburton case by keeping it brief, and it starts after the all-star break. The Pacers finished with a 16-18 record entering the start of the calendar year, and have 34-14 since that mark. Haliburton averaged 19.5ppg, 9.7apg, and 1.7spg since that mark, while his work that doesn't appear in the box score overshadows all of it. He utilizes unorthodox angles and holes in the defense that only he can find (because they haven't appeared in anyone else's eyes yet) and uses them to create space for his teammates. The gravity he attracts the minute he crosses halfcourt is second only to a player like Curry, and is pivotal to the Pacers' success in creating open shots, which they do so well. It feels like he still has the habit of passing on shots that were made in a dream for him, and the settling for long-range jumpers is hair-pulling considering he's statistically one of the most efficient mid-range guys in the league. There were cold stretches throughout his season, and it's entirely understandable for him to be excluded because of it, but there are very few players you'd take to lead your offense right now over him.

All-Defensive First Team

Evan Mobley (lock), Jaren Jackson Jr. (lock), Dyson Daniels, Amen Thompson, Draymond Green

I've given my cases for Mobley and Jackson Jr. already, so we'll just jump straight to Green. Listen, Draymond is right when he says he's one of the best defensive players to ever walk this Earth; that's just a simple truth. He can be the catalyst for any level or style of defense that basketball has ever presented, and this season is no exception. This Warriors team on paper should be an incredible defensive roster and does show those chops quite often, and Draymond is by far the most consistent piece to that puzzle.

I wanted to include these two young guys here to hand out props for the incredible perimeter work that is routinely a struggle for young players. I don't feel like it can be stated enough how much impact the older Thompson brother (by one minute, seriously, look it up) has on a nightly basis for a Rockets team that is far ahead of schedule and on pace for a deep playoff run in the near future. Many players have described both Thompson twins, but especially Amen, as perhaps the most athletic player they've ever shared the court with, and they use said gifts for effort on the defensive end of the ball. Dyson Daniels exploded on the scene out of nowhere this season and has been putting up video game defensive numbers that you usually see trail off around December all season. He's wound up finishing the season averaging an astounding 3 steals per game and is only allowing 37.5% from the field outside of 15 feet, and that's only because the only time players can get a shot off against the Austrailian is when he gets caught in a cycle of screens to avoid any potential pick-off in the passing lanes that Daniels is always a threat to do so.

All-Defensive Second Team

Ivica Zubac (lock), Lu Dort (lock), Toumani Camara, Jalen Williams, Rudy Gobert

Ivica Zubac?! What up, dude! You wanna talk about reasons the Clippers are making the impact they have, an incredible leap from Zubac, especially on the defensive end of the ball, is one of the top reasons. He's the book definition of a defensive anchor for a big man, as the Clippers are a significantly greater rebounding team while he's on the court (+5.2% TRP compared to -2.2% with him off), and his size alone steers opponents away from the paint as getting a shot over him is like when Allen Iverson had to send the ball up to the sky to get it to fall in over Dwight Howard.

Lu Dort and Toumani Camara fill almost opposite roles for what they accomplish on defense, so it almost seems right to pair them together in this paragraph. Starting with the Thunder's defensive anchor, Dort's sheer will and determination to affect every entry pass within a 15-mile radius of Paycom Center is the catalyst for what allows the Thunder to run such a historic offense on the other end of the ball, as it allows Shai (an excellent defensive player in his own right) to focus his game on dominating the other-end. There are also reports that Dort is arguably closer to a height like 6'1-6'2 in contrast to his listed 6'4 height, making his defensive effectiveness even more impressive. Camara on the other hand took what should've been the worst defensive team in the league in the Trail Blazers and made them into a formidable foe, especially when nearing the basket. He's listed at 6'7 and has a recorded 7' wingspan when he was drafted a few seasons ago, and uses that length and his underrated athleticism to affect shots out of nowhere and effortlessly for a team that needed all the help it could get stopping ball movement.

I touched on Jalen Williams a bit in the all-NBA portion of this piece, but didn't get too much into the defensive spectrum. The fact of the matter is that Williams is the best one-on-one defender when the ball slows down for the Thunder, full stop. Dort is rightfully credited as the heart and soul of this Thunder defense as his all-around effort allows for so much more work on the other side of the ball, but Williams' size and effortless transitioning around the court are unmatched and are one of the top reasons the Thunder defense is where it is.

Finally, the honorary Rudy Gobert selection takes the final spot, and what else is there to say? You can have the opinion you want on the Frenchman, but I don't think it's far-fetched to say that he still has the most presence in the post outside of Victor Wembanyama (which isn't fair because Wembanyama is a future 12x defensive player of the year) in the NBA.

All-Rookie First Team

Zacchaire Risacher (lock), Stephon Castle (lock), Jaylen Wells, Kel'el Ware, Donovan Clingan

A brief statement on the rookie class this year is this: not as bad as I thought. This was supposed to be a historically bad rookie class, and, while granted, it isn't a great rookie class, there is very solid talent here that all deserve a mention.

Risacher was a questionable first overall pick (I personally had Castle), but has far exceeded the expectations I had set for him. We had the tape from him in France, and the questionable part was that he didn't leap off the screen as much as you expect the incredibly high foreign draft picks to do. His offensive game needs work, as do all rookies, but he's shown on multiple occasions that he has the tools, and he certainly has the on-court IQ to be a reliable scoring threat when needed. Castle, on the other hand, I had as a sure-fire lock to do well in this league. Castle simply commanded the best college basketball team over the 2020s to overwhelming success, and you could tell with his presence that he commanded the court anytime he stepped on it. His shooting efficiency is an obvious worry for the moment, but the Spurs have realized you want to go through the ebbs and flows with a player like Castle when you aren't competing for anything significant.

Jaylen Wells made a late push for the rookie of the year award and certainly locked up his place on this all-rookie first team, but a horrifying wrist injury just the other night halted the former possibility in its tracks. He is, without question, the best perimeter defending rookie in this class so far, and has the tools to become one of the best in the league.

I'll round out the first team with Ware from Miami and Clingan out of Portland. Ware was one of those guys who seemed to fall under the radar, entering the draft as a multi-year talent out of Indiana, slightly undersized for his position. He's another one of those cases where, if the output is there, why not take the challenge? He's an explosive athlete and showed so this season. If he develops an uber-reliable jumper in the near future, he and Bam will be a menacing frontcourt in the coming years. Clingan took the final first-team spot over Zach Edey for me, as the shot-blocking Clingan provides as a rookie feels almost historic. He was a dominant big guy paired next to Castle at Uconn, and has adapted his game enough to the league to become one of the most reliable defensive anchors in the league.

All-Rookie Second Team

Zach Edey (lock), Alex Sarr (lock), Matas Buzelis (lock), Ryan Dunn, Yves Missy

I won't enter this portion acting like I have the strongest cases for these five; this is far more an outside perspective on the limited flashes that each player has shown.

Edey, I'm sure, will be the most controversial pick here, missing out on the first team for me, but I just can't get behind the guy yet. Recency bias aside (after he was consistently attacked by Golden State in the recent play-in game), there are a handful of examples where he simply seems lost and a step behind on both ends of the floor when the Grizzlies are taking on a team that's as fast-paced or quicker than them. He struggles recognizing ball movement and is lucky his size is where it is so he can remain a constant presence near the basket to deter shots. On the other side of the ball, he seems like a fish-out-of-water for a few of his limited minutes and is usually the product of the offense revolving despite him, not because of him. This isn't to say he is a net negative on either side of the ball, he started all year for a reason. He's got fine enough touch to not be completely useless on offense, and his already established size can be a positive for any defense that he is a part of.

Sarr and Buzelis are two I wanted to include on the first team so unbelievably bad, but they were etched out pretty handily by their competition. To start with Sarr, the big guy has much more of an "I'm gonna get mine" mentality than most were expecting entering this season, and isn't afraid to shoot the basketball. The guy isn't afraid to take shots, and when his skillset inevitably develops because of the green light, he'll be a problem with his size. Buzleis (aka, Lil Buzi Vert) is in the same category, as this dude is raw athleticism. He started very slowly to begin the year, but post-Lavine trade, he has soared into a key rotation piece for what was a better-than-expected Chicago Bulls team. He isn't afraid to body with anyone, he carries himself like he's the best player on the court at any time, and he's got the playmaking chops to still be a positive when he isn't getting his way scoring the basketball.

Dunn from Phoenix and Missi from New Orleans are the final cast for the all-rookie teams, and do so based on their ability to slot into any lineup the teams trot out. New Orleans and Phoenix are certainly not the first teams you think of when you think "good basketball" this year, but both players have been bright spots in a rather gloomy season for their respective franchises.

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