:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/63887590/usa_today_12182427.0.jpg)
Giannis Antetokounmpo has been named to the 2018-19 All-NBA First Team!! #FearTheDeer pic.twitter.com/DZ8VbIHWC4
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) May 23, 2019
Giannis Antetokounmpo says he doesn't care about winning the Most Valuable Player award, so there’s no chance that he cares about being named to the All-NBA First Team, which was reported today.
2018-19 All-NBA Teams: pic.twitter.com/6X6BELJO6X
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpearsESPN) May 23, 2019
Joining Giannis as a unanimous selection was Houston guard James Harden, who also happens to be the most potent competitor for MVP. Alongside these two were Steph Curry, Paul George, and Nikola Jokic.
Giannis was named to the All-NBA Second Team each of the last two seasons, making his unanimous First Team selection this year indicative of just how much better he is now, even from last year. With his third consecutive All-NBA selection, and a presumptive fourth next season leading into his much-discussed contract negotiations, Giannis is obviously eligible for the supermax, something that All-NBA selections affect greatly.
Earning All-NBA for a second consecutive season now has Giannis Antetokounmpo eligible in the summer of 2020 to sign the largest contract in NBA history. The five-year extension starting in 2021-22 would be worth $247.3M and carry a $42.6, $46.0, $49.5, $52.9 and $56.3M cap hit.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) May 23, 2019
Giannis isn’t the only one affected, as Rachel Nichols points out.
All-NBA teams are out.
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) May 23, 2019
Big headlines: Paul George makes 1st Team over KD, Jokic makes 1st Team over Embiid. Kemba makes 3rd team (qualifies him for Supermax), Karl Anthony Towns doesnt, means he misses out in $32 million incentive in his contract. pic.twitter.com/cULXNhqFZz
No other Bucks were given consideration by the voters; players like Luka Doncic and Marvin Bagley and Dwyane Wade received votes, but not Khris Middleton, Eric Bledsoe, or Brook Lopez. This is not a complaint, just an observation that some voters have different priorities than you may expect.
The rewards for an excellent regular season keep coming, and may still rain down if Giannis takes home a trophy during the NBA’s weird award show that’s inexplicably held after the season. But for now, the Bucks’ focus belongs on Game Five against the Toronto Raptors tonight, and ours does too...after an appropriate-but-short celebration. Congrats, Giannis!