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His Atlanta Hawks might have been knocked out of NBA playoff contention in a rather embarrassing way a month ago, but Trae Young still made an extra $34.5 million on a random Tuesday night in May.
The league announced its All-NBA teams ahead of Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals, and Young’s selection for the third team triggered a clause in the maximum overtime for rookies he signed last summer, lowering his projected salary of 172.5 million to $207 million over the next five seasons.
Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum and Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell missed out on similar raises last season when they failed to make an All-NBA team before beginning their maximum overtime last year.
Tatum’s first-team selection on Tuesday — his second All-NBA nod in three years — came a year too late to erase a fatter check. It still secures the 24-year-old’s status in the game, along with his performance in the Eastern Conference Finals. He and 23-year-old Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic are the last first-team titleholders to make the playoffs. Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker were eliminated ahead of Tuesday’s announcement.
Doncic has already qualified for the $34.5 million pay rise after earning back-to-back first-team selections over the past two years. (A player ending their rookie scale contract may increase their maximum salary from 25% of the salary cap to 30% if they go All-NBA in the season immediately prior to the start of their overtime period or in two of the three prior seasons.) His three first-team direct bids have him on a Hall of Fame trajectory.
Tuesday’s announcement signals a generational shift in the All-NBA as six of the 15 selections were picked for the first or second time. Six of the biggest snubs from the squad were also awaiting news of their first nod. The first team consists exclusively of players under the age of 28 for the first time since the 1954/55 season. Doncic joins Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant and Hall of Famers Tim Duncan and Max Zaslofsky (1947-49) as the only players to make the first team three times before turning 24.
The All-NBA guard hasn’t completely changed shifts. Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James matched his record with an 18th straight pick despite missing the playoffs for the first time since his first All-NBA nomination in 2005. He made the third team for the second time in four years. Before that, he was in the first or second team in every season from 2005 to 2018. He also made the first team in 2020 and the second team last year.
Suns guard Chris Paul became the 20th player in league history to form an 11th All-NBA team. Durant is only the 27th 10-time honoree, and Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry joined a list of 35 players to ever make eight All-NBA rosters. This is the first season since 2011 that one of Curry, Paul or James Harden did not make the first team. (Harden failed to make All-NBA for a third straight year.)
Antetokounmpo’s sixth pick further cements the two-time MVP’s Hall of Fame legacy. No player with so many honors has ever failed to make it into the Hall of Fame. After the recent additions of Chris Webber, Ben Wallace and Tim Hardaway, Kevin Johnson and Amar’e Stoudemire are the only eligible five-time All-NBA selections not represented at Springfield. Jazz center Rudy Gobert and Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler came close to becoming the 80th and 81st players in history to make five All-NBA teams in a career.
Here’s the full 2022 All-NBA list (followed by a list of the biggest snubs at each position).
FIRST TEAM ALL-NBA
G: Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks
Stats (65 games): 28.4 PPG (46/35/74), 9.1 RPG, 8.7 APG
All-NBA pick: Third
G: Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns
Stats (68 games): 26.8 PPG (47/38/87), 5.0 RPG, 4.8 APG
All-NBA pick: First
Q: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
Stats (67 games): 29.9 PPG (55/29/72), 11.6 RPG, 5.8 APG
All-NBA pick: sixth
Q: Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
Stats (76 games): 26.9 PPG (45/35/85), 8.0 RPG, 4.4 APG
All-NBA pick: Second
C: Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets
Stats (74 games): 27.1 PPG (58/34/81), 13.8 RPG, 7.9 APG
All-NBA pick: Fourth
SECOND TEAM ALL-NBA
G: Yes Morant, Memphis Grizzlies
Stats (57 games): 27.4 PPG (49/34/76), 6.7 APG, 5.7 RPG
All-NBA pick: First
G: Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
Stats (64 games): 25.5 PPG (44/38/92), 6.3 APG, 5.2 RPG
All-NBA pick: Eighth
Q: Kevin Durant, Brooklyn Nets
Stats (55 games): 29.9 PPG (52/38/91), 7.4 RPG, 6.4 APG
All-NBA pick: 10th
Q: DeMar DeRozan, Chicago Bulls
Stats (76 games): 27.9 PPG (50/35/88), 5.2 RPG, 4.9 APG
All-NBA pick: Third
C: Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers
Stats (68 games): 30.6 PPG (50/37/81), 11.7 RPG, 4.2 APG
All-NBA pick: Fourth
THIRD TEAM ALL-NBA
G: Chris Paul, Phoenix Suns
Stats (65 games): 14.7 PPG (49/32/84), 10.8 APG, 4.4 RPG
All-NBA pick: 11th
G: Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks
Stats (76 games): 28.4 PPG (46/38/90), 9.7 APG, 3.7 RPG
All-NBA pick: First
Q: LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers
Stats (56 games): 30.3 PPG (52/36/76), 8.2 RPG, 6.2 APG
All-NBA pick: 18th
Q: Pascal Siakam, Toronto Raptors
Stats (68 games): 22.8 PPG (49/34/75), 8.5 RPG, 5.3 APG
All-NBA pick: Second
C: Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves
Stats (74 games): 24.6 PPG (53/41/82), 9.8 RPG, 3.6 APG
All-NBA pick: Second
SNUBS
G: Donovan Mitchell, Utah Jazz
Stats (67 games): 25.9 PPG (45/36/85), 5.3 APG, 4.2 RPG
G: Dejounte Murray, San Antonio Spurs
Stats (68 games): 21.1 PPG (46/33/79), 9.2 APG, 8.3 RPG
G: Darius Garland, Cleveland Cavaliers
Stats (68 games): 21.7 PPG (46/38/89), 8.6 APG, 3.3 RPG
G: Zach LaVine, Chicago Bulls
Stats (67 games): 24.4 PPG (48/39/85), 4.6 RPG, 4.5 APG
Q: Jimmy Butler, Miami Heat
Stats (57 games): 21.4 PPG (48/23/87), 5.9 RPG, 5.5 APG
Q: Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics
Stats (66 games): 23.6 PPG (47/36/76), 6.1 RPG, 3.5 APG
C: Bam Adebayo, Miami Heat
Stats (56 games): 19.1 PPG (56/0/75), 10.1 RPG, 3.4 APG
C: Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz
Stats (65 games): 15.6 PPG (71/0/69), 14.7 RPG, 1.1 APG
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Ben Rohrbach is a senior editor at Yahoo Sports. Do you have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach
