OKC Thunder Needs Another Successful Season for Multiple All-NBA Recipients

The 2024-25 Oklahoma City Thunder won 68 regular-season games with an NBA-record +1,055 point differential and was rewarded handsomely. Its three players who logged 2,000 or more total minutes each received at least one accolade.

Luguentz Dort (2,073 minutes) earned a spot on the All-Defensive First Team. Jalen Williams (2,237 minutes) received All-NBA Third Team, All-Star and All-Defensive Second Team selections. And Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2,598 minutes), of course, received his first career MVP alongside de facto All-NBA First Team and All-Star bids.

Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams are undeniable stars now, but Oklahoma City will not produce two, much less three, All-NBA beneficiaries this season unless it churns out similar success.

End-of-year All-NBA voting splits the season's 15 best-performing players into a First Team, Second Team and Third Team. All recipients must play at least 65 games, which took highly impactful players like Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (50 games) and San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (50 games) out of the running.

The First Team comprises every MVP candidate. Gilgeous-Alexander, Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum each secured the maximum possible 100 first-place votes. Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell joined them with 61 first-place votes and 100 total votes.

All five Second Team members earned 96 or more total votes, with Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry and New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson getting 100.

Williams, Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton and LA Clippers guard James Harden narrowly earned Third Team spots over Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun and Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. Williams' 65 total votes, the most of the five, were enough in the end.

There are no official All-NBA criteria, but all 15 members registered a high estimated plus-minus, scored frequently per 100 possessions and played on good teams.

Estimated plus-minus is an all-in-one advanced metric that approximates contributions with highly optimized statistics while adjusting for teammate quality, giving more context to raw plus-minus.

Points per 100 possessions levels the playing field, as some players average more minutes per game than others. Gilgeous-Alexander, for example, averaged the most points (32.7) while averaging the 35th-most minutes (35.2).

Eleven of the 15 most qualified points per 100 possessions, including the top 10, were All-NBA players. Eleven of the 15 highest qualified estimated plus-minuses, including the top seven, were All-NBA players. Twelve of the league's 14 best teams by record, including eight of nine 50-win teams, received at least one All-NBA player.

In other words, the standards are incredibly high. The average 2024-25 All-NBA player: +4.42 estimated plus-minus, 35.8 points per 100 possessions, +7.2 on-court net rating and 54-28 team record.

Gilgeous-Alexander singlehandedly skews all four categories, finishing first in both individual categories while also playing on the best team and catalyzing the best on-court results, so the averages are not indicative of who makes the Second and Third Teams. The median 2024-25 All-NBA player: +3.9 estimated plus-minus (Cavaliers forward-center Evan Mobley), 36.4 points per 100 possessions (Brunson), +6.2 on-court net rating (Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns) and 50-32 team record (four players).

The MVP runner-up and bronze medalist put together memorable seasons as well. Jokic nearly matched Gilgeous-Alexander in estimated plus-minus, scoring the third-most points per 100 possessions and contributing in many other areas as the Nuggets controlled his minutes. Antetokounmpo was the NBA's second-most prolific volume scorer and finished with the third-highest estimated plus-minus, though the Bucks were not quite as good with him on the court.

Three teams earned multiple All-NBA players: The 68-14 Thunder (No. 1 record in NBA), the 64-18 Cavaliers (No. 2 in NBA) and the 51-31 Knicks (No. 5 in NBA). The blueprint exists for Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams to earn more selections, and Chet Holmgren must improve his volume scoring from 26.2 points per 100 possessions for a spot this season or beyond.