Three former Wildcats named on All-NBA teams

Posted by Admin May 23, 2024 Basketball

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WYMT) – In recognition of their outstanding performances during the 2023-24 NBA season, Kentucky men’s basketball products Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Davis and Devin Booker were selected to the All-NBA teams, it was announced Wednesday night. Gilgeous-Alexander was a unanimous pick to the first team, while Davis was named to the second team and Booker tabbed a third team pick.

Since 2015, Kentucky has had eight players earn 17 All-NBA honors. The number of individual players and the number of total selections lead all other programs during that time period.

All three of Kentucky’s 2023-24 All-NBA honorees are past awardees. Gilgeous-Alexander and Booker were each recognized for the second time in their professional careers, while Davis was selected for a remarkable fifth season, the most ever for a Kentucky men’s basketball alum. All three players were also voted as NBA All-Stars this season.

The runner-up for the 2023-24 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player, Gilgeous-Alexander was one of just two unanimous first team honorees this season alongside Nikola Jokic. He resides on the All-NBA First Team for a second-consecutive season after also being selected to his second NBA All-Star game in 2024 and earning his first career start in the game’s premier event. Gilgeous-Alexander finished the regular season as the league’s third leading scorer, averaging 30.1 points per game. The Hamilton, Ontario, native had a league-best 51 30-point outings, marking the second straight year he has paced the league in that category.

The rangy lead guard was also a nemesis on defense, tying for the league lead in steals per game at 2.0 per game.

Gilgeous-Alexander also contributed 6.2 assists and 5.5 rebounds per game for the youthful Oklahoma City Thunder, who earned the No. 1 seed in the rugged Western Conference. OKC finished 57-25 overall, the most wins for the team since winning 59 games in 2013-14. In the Thunder’s opening series’ sweep over New Orleans, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 27.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists. It marked the first playoff series win for the franchise since 2016.

Now in his 12th NBA season, Davis enjoyed a tremendous 2023-24 campaign which saw the Los Angeles Lakers’ center average 24.7 points on 55.6% shooting. He ranked third in the league in rebounds per game with 12.6 and fourth in both total blocks (178) and blocks per game (2.3). Davis was also named to the NBA All-Defense Second Team yesterday.

During his outstanding NBA career, Davis is a nine-time NBA All-Star, a four-time All-NBA First Team selection (2015, 2017, 2018, 2020), a 2020 NBA Champion and the 2017 NBA All-Star Game MVP.

Rounding out the UK contingent of All-NBA honorees is Booker on the third team. During the 2023-24 regular season, the Phoenix Suns star guard averaged 27.1 points per game, a career-high 6.9 assists per contest and 4.5 rebounds. Booker’s scoring average was tied with teammate Kevin Durant for the fifth highest in the NBA this season and helped the Suns to a 49-33 record and the sixth seed in the Western Conference. It was the second most points per game for Booker in a single season during his nine-year NBA career.

The Grand Rapids, Michigan native continued his torrid scoring pace in the Phoenix’s four postseason games, averaging 27.5 points in the series vs. the Minnesota Timberwolves. Booker adds this year’s All-NBA Third Team recognition to his first team selection in 2022. He is also a four-time NBA All-Star and was a member of the NBA All-Rookie First Team back in 2016.

Other former Kentucky men’s basketball players to receive All-NBA votes were Tyrese Maxey, De’Aaron Fox and Bam Adebayo.

Kentucky men’s basketball alumni continue to make a major impact on the NBA scene. UK led the country for the 12th straight season with 26 former student-athletes on NBA opening day rosters in 2023-24, while also pacing the nation with 22 representatives in the NBA Playoffs. At the 2024 NBA All-Star game, the Wildcats made history with a record-breaking seven players earning All-Star nods.

The 2023-24 NBA award season has already been a successful one for the Wildcats. In addition to today’s All-NBA nods, Adebayo and Davis were named to the NBA All-Defensive Teams, Karl-Anthony Towns earned the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion Award, Maxey was named both the KIA NBA Most Improved Player, and the recipient of the NBA’s Sportsmanship Award and Cason Wallace was tabbed to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.