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All-NBA Teams
This year’s All-NBA picture was clearer at the top than it was in the middle. First Team largely picked itself with one notable exception, Kawhi Leonard reminding everyone what a healthy version of him looks like. The backcourt debate was the most contested piece across all three teams with several big names left on the cutting room floor due to availability. Second and third team is where it gets messy and your mileage may vary.
Notable Omissions
Before the teams are revealed, several high-profile names were left off entirely due to availability concerns. Games played matter, and this year was a reminder that you can’t reward guys who weren’t on the floor consistently enough to move the needle for their teams.
Luka Dončić — The talent is never in question, but Luka’s availability isn’t an anomaly with Luka, it’s part of the profile. Hard to justify a spot when you can’t count on him to be there.
Cade Cunningham — Was having a genuinely strong season before missing significant time. Frustrating because the upside was clearly there, but durability has to factor in.
Anthony Edwards — Ant’s absence hurt because he’s firmly in the top-tier conversation when healthy.
Steph Curry — Still elite when healthy, but at this stage of his career the missed games are becoming harder to overlook. The Trapped Star nomination says it all.
LeBron James — Legacy is untouchable. 2026 availability is another conversation entirely.
Devin Booker — Booker is good enough to crack these teams when locked in for a full season. This wasn’t that year.
First Team
Nikola Jokić, Victor Wembanyama, Kawhi Leonard, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jaylen Brown
Second Team
Jalen Duren, Jalen Johnson, Kevin Durant, Donovan Mitchell, Jalen Brunson
Third Team
Chet Holmgren, Scottie Barnes, Tyrese Maxey, Jamal Murray, Stephon Castle
All-Defensive Teams
The defensive teams this year reflect a league that is getting younger, longer, and more versatile across every position. Wemby anchoring the First Team is a given at this point. The most interesting conversation lives in the Second and Third teams where some younger names are staking their claim and a few veterans held on to their spots on merit alone.
First Team
Rudy Gobert, Victor Wembanyama, Chet Holmgren, Ausar Thompson, Derrick White
Second Team
Bam Adebayo, Scottie Barnes, OG Anunoby, Stephon Castle, Cason Wallace
Third Team
Evan Mobley, Toumani Camara, Lu Dort, Dyson Daniels, Kris Dunn
All-Rookie Teams
This class had real depth, and the First Team reflects that. Cooper Flagg at the top is no surprise but the rest of the First Team filled out nicely around him. The Second Team is where it gets interesting; Caleb Love’s inclusion will raise eyebrows and probably some arguments, but the production earned him the spot. This rookie class has some real building blocks scattered across the league.
First Team
Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel, VJ Edgecombe, Dylan Harper, Ace Bailey
Second Team
Cedric Coward, Derik Queen, Maxime Raynaud, Jeremiah Fears, Caleb Love
RHR 2026 Awards
🏆 Unicorn of the Year
Nominees: Victor Wembanyama, Payton Pritchard, Jalen Johnson
Winner — Victor Wembanyama
This was probably a given when the nominees were written out, but Jalen Johnson made a very strong case for this award. Wemby just continues to be an anomaly we have never seen before who keeps ascending to stardom. The question isn’t if he becomes the best player in the world, it’s how soon the league runs out of answers for him.
🏆 Most Pleasant Delight
Nominees: Tatum’s Return, The Charlotte Hornets, This Year’s All-Star Game, Bam’s 83, Kawhi Turning Back Into 2019 Kawhi, The Hawks Run Post-Trae Young Trade
Winner — Bam Adebayo’s 83-Point Game
Torn between the Hawks run and the All-Star Game but Bam’s 83 takes it. Tatum’s return is miraculous and inspiring given his insane rehabilitation and bounce back within a year, but Bam’s 83 won it fairly.
🏆 Billy Hoyle Memorial Award — Best White American Player
Nominees: Austin Reaves, Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel, Chet Holmgren, Payton Pritchard, Donovan Clingan
Winner — Chet Holmgren
This year’s field was legitimately tough. Last year’s winner Austin Reaves could have repeated, Flagg and Knueppel made strong cases as rookies, but Chet Holmgren reclaimed the award with his quiet leveling up this season. He’s been a key piece of OKC’s dominance and the game is continuing to grow in ways that don’t always show up on the stat sheet.
🏆 Funniest/Goofiest Story
Nominees: Suns Owner Mat Ishbia Talking Smack After 32 Wins, The Paul George Suspension, Ben Simmons Becoming a Fisherman
Winner — Ben Simmons Becoming a Fisherman
Hate that it came to this because there’s still a sliver of Simmons stock being held onto here, but this odyssey is funny, goofy, and confusing all at once. Is this a gap year to recover and rediscover that fire? Or is this the opening chapter of a new career entirely? Regardless, Ben Simmons remains one of basketball’s most frustrating enigmas and whatever happens next will be worth revisiting when it does.
🏆 Best In-Season Trade
Nominees: Zubac to the Pacers for Mathurin & Picks, The Trae Young Trade, The Jared McCain Trade, James Harden to Cavs for Darius Garland
Winner — Jared McCain Trade
Going with the mind over the heart on this one. Daryl Morey essentially gave Jared McCain away for nothing and not to just any team, but the defending champion Thunder, handing a juggernaut more depth for a longer postseason run in the West. Zubac to Indiana will be impactful when Haliburton returns but McCain to OKC was the move that had the most immediate championship implications.
🏆 Craziest Moment of the Season
Nominees: KD’s Burner Account Fiasco, February Tanking Crisis, the 65-Game Rule Backfiring, Fans Turning on Inside the NBA
Winner — February Tanking Crisis
This one ran away with it. The embarrassing tanking so early in the new year from Utah and Washington was blatant and indefensible. The 65-game rule backfiring was a close second and honestly both stories feed into the same larger problem the league needs to address sooner rather than later.
🏆 Worst Coach of the Season
Nominees: Doug Christie (Kings), Ime Udoka (Rockets), Brian Keefe (Wizards), Jamahl Mosley (Magic), Doc Rivers (Bucks)
Winner — Doug Christie
Not a lot needs to be said here. Mosley nearly made it a co-winner situation but anything Sacramento Kings related carries a foul stench and Doug Christie was awful this season. He shouldn’t get another head coaching opportunity in this league, sorry not sorry.
🏆 “DON’T SELL YOUR STOCK” Award
Nominees: Jared McCain, LaMelo Ball, Peyton Watson
Winner — LaMelo Ball
Haven’t always been the biggest LaMelo believer but credit is due. Ball validated all the hype and goodwill surrounding him this season and proved to be a true franchise cornerstone. In doing so he removed himself from that trio of “are you sure about this guy” alongside Ja Morant and Trae Young is now down to a duo.
🏆 The Stacy Patton Award — Biggest Black Hole
Nominees: Cam Thomas, Zach LaVine, Malik Monk
Winner — Cam Thomas ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
For the foreseeable future this may be Cam Thomas’s award to lose. The Nets moved on from him, he got a shot in Milwaukee and couldn’t survive one season. The talent has never been the issue, the approach to the game and unwillingness to adapt is what will be his downfall if it doesn’t change.
🏆 Trapped Star — Needs an Out
Nominees: Lauri Markkanen, Steph Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Domantas Sabonis, Devin Booker
Winner — Steph Curry
This drum has been banged for a few years now and that continues until it actually happens. Steph Curry is the greatest Warrior in franchise history, full stop. But it is time for him to move on and make the most of the finite star seasons he has left. Why not go home to Charlotte, elevate that young core, and leave Draymond and Kerr behind as harsh as that sounds. The Chef deserves a new chapter.
🏆 Biggest Distraction
Nominees: The Kawhi/Clippers Situation, Ja Morant, The 65-Game Rule, Tanking, The Giannis Situation
Winner — The Giannis Situation
The Giannis situation wins this going away. What makes it particularly frustrating is that Giannis is clearly better than this. The “good soldier publicly, unhappy privately” routine reeks of Dwight Howard circa 2012 and Giannis is too good and too respected to have his legacy muddied by that comparison. The Bucks are in a tough spot, and everyone knows it, just be straight about it.
🏆 Surprise Team of the Year
Nominees: Suns, Hornets, Celtics, Hawks (Post-Trae Trade)
Winner — Charlotte Hornets
The Hornets are ahead of schedule, plain and simple. Nobody had Charlotte circled as a team to watch this season and yet here we are. They’ve become must-see League Pass TV which in itself is an accomplishment, and the young core is developing faster than projected. The foundation looks real. They’ve gone from irrelevant to relevant faster than expected.
🏆 “Man He’s a Tough Watch” Award — Most Difficult Player to Watch
Nominees: Paolo Banchero, Zach LaVine, Russell Westbrook, Draymond Green, Karl-Anthony Towns, James Harden
Winner — Karl-Anthony Towns ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Karl-Anthony Towns continues to be one of the most frustrating and embarrassing watches in basketball today. Yes, the offensive talent is real and his chemistry with Jalen Brunson has genuinely been good for the Knicks this season that part is acknowledged. But the excessive pouting when touches dry up, the streak of idiotic fouls at the absolute worst moments, and the repeated defensive lapses that are too loud to ignore. The good doesn’t cancel out the bad when the bad is that consistent.
🏆 Comeback of the Season
Nominees: Jayson Tatum, Brandon Ingram, LaMelo Ball, Saddiq Bey
Winner — Brandon Ingram
As a die hard Raptors fan this one is personal. There was hesitancy about the Brandon Ingram experience and shoutout to Big Jeff who has been his number one defender, happy to admit the skepticism was wrong. Ingram has been amazing this season and a major reason why Toronto will be back in the playoffs starting next week. Trading Spicy P for Ingram stung and still does, but maybe it was money well spent after all.
🏆 RHR 2026 LVP — Least Valuable Player
Nominees: Myles Turner, Paul George, Mikal Bridges, Jarrett Allen, Joel Embiid
Winner — Myles Turner
Embiid is on this list but realistically expectations for him showing up at this point should be minimal at best. Turner on the other hand had actual expectations attached to him coming into Milwaukee and simply turned into a pumpkin. Whether this is a career inflection point or just the Bucks situation being as toxic as it looks, that signing has lemon written all over it. Milwaukee needed a foundational piece and got a disappearing act instead.