“Kareem, Kobe, and Timmy had 15, LeBron James has 18”: Lakers superstar makes his 18th All-NBA selection, the first player in history to make All-NBA in his 19th season

Akash Murty | 25/05/2022
"Kareem, Kobe, and Timmy had 15, LeBron James has 18": Lakers superstar makes his 18th All-NBA selection, the first player in history to make All-NBA in his 19th season

In his 19th year in the league, the kid from Akron, LeBron James, has made 18 All-NBA Teams, three more than the guys that follow.

As the NBA announced its 2022 All-NBA teams, there weren’t many surprises. MVP Nikola Jokic as the center, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jayson Tatum as forwards, and Luka Doncic and Devin Booker as guards made the First team.

There were some records made though. Talking about the league being in safe hands, the All-NBA First Team is made up entirely of players age 27 or younger for the first time since the 1954-55 season.

Also read: “Deandre Jordan has more All-NBA First Teams than Joel Embiid”: NBA Twitter reacts to The Process not making First Team post MVP snub

Luka became just the fourth player in NBA history to be named to the First Team at least three times before turning 24. While Giannis received All-NBA First team votes on all 100 ballots, making it his 4th consecutive unanimous selection. He’s the only player with that record.

The second team led by Joel Embiid also had Kevin Durant, DeMar DeRozan, Ja Morant, and Stephen Curry. While the third team, headlined by LeBron James, with a league record 18 All-NBAs comprised of Karl-Anthony Towns, Pascal Siakam, Trae Young, and Chris Paul.

LeBron James makes it to a record 18th All-NBA honors

The 37-year-old, having been criticized throughout this season for putting up empty stats, didn’t have a care in the world as the Lakers had no chance of winning the title with all the aging players and injuries.

He went about his scoring business day in and day out and almost ended up as the scoring leader of the league but finished just behind Embiid for the scoring title. It resulted in him getting his 18th All-NBA selection.

This puts him 3 selections above Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant, and Tim Duncan for the most all-time. Much like James, all these legends played in the league for 19-years more.

Also read: “Giannis Antetokounmpo becomes the first player to have 4 straight unanimous All-NBA First Teams!”: NBA Twitter reacts as the Bucks MVP gets named to his 6th All-NBA team in quite a fashion

Let’s not forget the man also has 13 All-NBA First Team honors, Kobe again follows him there with 11 alongside Karl Malone, then comes Michael Jordan, Timmy, and a few others with ten.

 

Post Edited By: Akash Murty
all-nba Kareem Abdul Jabbar Kobe Bryant LeBron James Tim Duncan

About the author

Akash Murty

An Electrical and Electronics Engineer by degree, Akash Murty is an NBA Editor at The SportsRush. Previously a Software Engineer, Murty couldn’t keep himself away from sports, and his knack for writing and putting his opinion forward brought him to the TSR. A big Soccer enthusiast, his interest in basketball developed late, as he got access to a hoop for the first time at 17. Following this, he started watching basketball at the 2012 Olympics, which transitioned to NBA, and he became a fan of the game as he watched LeBron James dominate the league. Him being an avid learner of the game and ritually following the league for around a decade, he now writes articles ranging from throwbacks, and live game reports, to gossip. LA Lakers are his favourite basketball team, while Chelsea has his heart in football. He also likes travelling, reading fiction, and sometimes cooking.

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