2022-2023 was the last season that the All-NBA Teams were voted on with positions in mind and no requirement for minimum games played. These teams featured 5 players who would not qualify for All-NBA under the new CBA rules. Additionally, numerous players may have moved up or down an All-NBA Team had it already been positionless voting.
Looking towards the 2023–2024 season, which players will take a leap and make All-NBA for the first time, which will make All-NBA again after missing out last season, and which will be omitted entirely due to performance or inability to qualify?
Potential All-NBA Caliber players who are likely to miss the 65-game minimum to qualify (all players listed have not played 65+ games in any of their previous three seasons, keeping in mind that the 2020-2021 season was a slightly shortened season):
LeBron James (55, 56, 45), Steph Curry (56, 64, 63), Kevin Durant (47, 55, 35), Kawhi Leonard (52, 52, 57), Anthony Davis (56, 40, 36), Kyrie Irving (60, 29, 54), Paul George (56, 31, 54), Jimmy Butler (64, 57, 52), Zion Williamson (29, 61, 24), Ja Morant (61, 57, 63), and will play less than 65 games this season due to suspension.
While a few of these superstars could make it more of a priority to hit the 65 game mark (where they must play 20+ minutes), it is impossible to project any of them to be All-NBA with their injury/rest history. After removing the 10 players above from contention, we looked at the next best 30 players, catching anyone and everyone who could potentially make All-NBA. These were the 15 players who missed the cut for All-NBA Team honors:
Domantas Sabonis, Julius Randle, Lauri Markkanen, Jrue Holiday, Jamal Murray, Bam Adebayo, James Harden, Jaren Jackson Jr., Tyrese Haliburton, Karl-Anthony Towns, Khris Middleton, DeMar DeRozan, Darius Garland, Mikal Bridges, Zach LaVine
Now to showcase which players project to make an All-NBA Team for the 2023-2024 season!