Most All-NBA Team Selections of All Time

Making an All-NBA Team has been a certification of a player's greatness since 1946.

Making an All-NBA Team has been a certification of a player’s greatness since 1946, the NBA’s inaugural season. But much to the chagrin of players and coaches, sportswriters and sports broadcasters select the prestigious postseason team.

The All-NBA Team went to a standard format in 1956 with two guards, two forwards and one center. In 1988, it expanded from a first team and a second team to include a third team. As positions in basketball become more fluid, it will be interesting to see how the All-NBA Team evolves.

Should some years, like 2022, include two centers when the two top MVP vote-getters both play the same position? And how should All-NBA Team selections impact contracts? Being selected now means the difference between being able to be worth 35 percent of a team’s salary cap against 30 percent for veteran players.

These are the players with the most All-NBA Team selections of all time.

15. Charles Barkley — 11

Bill Chan / AP Photo

All-NBA First Team: 5 (1988-91, 1993)

All-NBA Second Team: 5 (1986, 1987, 1992, 1994, 1995)

All-NBA Third Team: 1 (1996)

Bottom line: Charles Barkley cemented his legacy as one of the NBA’s best players of all time in four years with the Phoenix Suns, where he won his only NBA Most Valuable Player award in 1993 when he averaged 25.6 points, 12.2 rebounds and 5.1 assists and played in his only NBA Finals.

Few players in NBA history have been as popular during their career as Barkley, and no player has been able to burnish their fame and popularity off the floor as he has following his career, thanks to 20 years as an “Inside the NBA” analyst.

Note: Total selections include All-NBA First, Second and Third Team picks. Rankings are based on First Team honors.

14. Oscar Robertson — 11

J. Walter Green / AP Photo

All-NBA First Team: 9 (1961-69)

All-NBA Second Team: 2 (1970, 1971)

All-NBA Third Team: None

Bottom line: The original “Mr. Triple-Double” was Oscar Robertson, who was actually the first player in NBA history to average a triple-double for the entire season in 1961-62. Robertson’s crowning achievement was helping lead the Bucks to their first NBA title in 1971, alongside Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

How important is Robertston to the game? He’s even credited with creating the head fake and the fadeaway jumper.

12. Bob Pettit — 11 (Tie)

AP Photo

All-NBA First Team: 10 (1955-64)

All-NBA Second Team: 1 (1965)

All-NBA Third Team: None

Bottom line: Bob Pettit was one of the most prolific scorers and rebounders in NBA history, and if you did a double take at his career rebounding average (16.2 rebounds per game), that’s understandable. Because 16.2 rebounds per game is just insane.

And it’s also a clear indicator of where his toughness came from. He trails only Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell in that category.

Pettit played 11 seasons in the NBA and was a first-team All-NBA pick 10 times. He made second team the other season. Pettit was the first NBA Most Valuable Player in 1958 and is tied with Kobe Bryant for most NBA All-Star MVP awards with four.

12. Michael Jordan — 11 (Tie)

Eric Risberg / AP Photo

All-NBA First Team: 10 (1987-93, 1996-98)

All-NBA Second Team: 1 (1985)

All-NBA Third Team: None

Bottom line: If you want to make the case for exactly how popular Michael Jordan is, consider this — almost 20 years since he played in his last NBA game and 25 years since he won his last NBA championship, Jordan’s signature “Air Jordan” shoes still outsell the signature shoes of current NBA stars at almost a 4-to-1 pace.

During his playing career with the Chicago Bulls, Jordan’s popularity and fame weren’t really comparable to other athletes but more in line with the biggest movie stars and musicians in the world. Since his playing career ended, that love seems to have only grown.

Jordan’s success has translated into big bucks. He’s now the owner of his own NBA franchise, the Charlotte Hornets, and worth an estimated $2.2 billion.

11. Dirk Nowitzki — 12

Eric Gay / AP Photo

All-NBA First Team: 4 (2005-07, 2009)

All-NBA Second Team: 5 (2002, 2003, 2008, 2010, 2011)

All-NBA Third Team: 3 (2001, 2004, 2012)

Bottom line: Dirk Nowitzki can claim the throne as the greatest European-born player in NBA history and has had little serious competition for that title. Until recently.

If there’s anyone who might be able to knock Nowitzki out of that spot, it seems like it could be Dallas’ second-year guard Luka Doncic, one of the more prodigious young talents the league has seen in the last 20 years.

That being said, Nowitzki has two things Doncic will have to earn over his career to stay in the conversation — an NBA title and an NBA Most Valuable Player trophy.

9. Dolph Schayes — 12 (Tie)

AP Photo

All-NBA First Team: 6 (1952-55, 1957, 1958)

All-NBA Second Team : 6 (1950, 1951, 1956, 1959-61)

All-NBA Third Team: None

Bottom line: Bronx native Dolph Schayes led NYU to the NCAA tournament final as a 16-year-old college freshman in 1945, then became a 12-time All-Star and 12-time All-NBA pick.

Schayes won his lone NBA title in 1955 and played his entire career with one franchise, the Syracuse Nationals/Philadelphia 76ers.

His son, Danny Schayes, also played 18 seasons in the NBA.

9. Hakeem Olajuwon — 12 (Tie)

Rick Bowmer / AP Photo

All-NBA First Team: 6 (1987-89, 1993, 1994, 1997)

All-NBA Second Team: 3 (1986, 1990, 1996)

All-NBA Third Team: 3 (1991, 1995, 1999)

Bottom line: In the early 1990s, there was an obsession with NBA players coming over from Africa thanks in no small part to the charismatic, humble Hakeem Olajuwon, who shot to fame with the University of Houston before becoming a two-time NBA champion with the Houston Rockets.

One of the greatest centers in NBA history, Olajuwon was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1984 NBA draft — just two spots ahead of Michael Jordan.

There was very little Olajuwon couldn’t do on a basketball court on the offensive or defensive end of the floor. He also led the NBA in blocks three times and averaged a staggering 4.6 blocks per game in the 1989-90 season.

7. Jerry West — 12 (Tie)

AP Photo

All-NBA First Team (10): 10 (1962-67, 1970-73)

All-NBA Second Team: 2 (1968, 1969)

All-NBA Third Team: None

Bottom line: Jerry West — “The Logo” — is still the only player in NBA history to win NBA Finals MVP honors on a team that didn’t win the championship.

West won his lone NBA title in 1972 and spent his entire career with the Lakers, winning over more fans each year as the sports world had to witness what seemed like West’s unending heartbreak. He lost to the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals for six years in a row.

As an NBA executive, he’s won eight championships — six with the Lakers and two with the Golden State Warriors and is in the discussion as one of the greatest general managers in NBA history. While he’s also not the psycho portrayed in the HBO series “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty,” he’s also no saint.

7. Bob Cousy — 12 (Tie)

AP Photo

All-NBA First Team: 10 (1952-61)

All-NBA Second Team: 2 (1962-63)

All-NBA Third Team: None

Bottom line: Bob Cousy won six NBA championships with the Boston Celtics and was the 1957 NBA MVP. Cousy made the All-Star team in all 13 seasons with the Celtics and led the NBA in assists for eight consecutive years in that stretch.

Cousy desperately wanted to play for the Celtics. He played collegiately for Holy Cross and was drafted by the Tri-Cities Blackhawks but refused to report to the team.

6. Shaquille O’Neal — 14

Mark J. Terrill / AP Photo

All-NBA First Team: 8 (1998, 2000-06)

All-NBA Second Team: 2 (1995, 1999)

All-NBA Third Team: 4 (1994, 1996, 1997, 2009)

Bottom line: Shaquille O’Neal is one of the greatest centers in NBA history. That includes a group with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell. Aside from being a four-time NBA champion, Shaq also is a 15-time All-Star and 14-time All-NBA pick.

What has catapulted Shaq into the stratosphere of most popular athletes of all time is his personality. At one point during his career, the dude had platinum-selling albums and was headlining big-budget movies.

Post-career, he’s essentially been “Uncle Shaq” to a whole new generation of NBA fans on “Inside the NBA,” alongside fellow former players Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley.

5. Karl Malone — 14

Mark J. Terrill / AP Photo

All-NBA First Team: 11 (1989-99)

All-NBA Second Team: 2 (1988, 2000)

All-NBA Third Team: 1 (2001)

Bottom line: Think whatever you want of Karl Malone now, but from the late 1980s through the mid-1990s, he was one of the NBA’s most popular players.

“The Mailman” had a rugged style of play that we have rarely seen since. Someone that big and strong and athletic would have been a star in any era. Like a few other players on this list, Malone hasn’t done much to enhance his legacy since his career was over. He was already hard at work losing fans before he was done playing.

We can’t deny how popular Malone was in his heyday, just like he can’t deny he never won an NBA championship.

3. Tim Duncan — 15 (Tie)

Eric Gay / AP Photo

All-NBA First Team: 10 (1998-2005, 2007, 2013)

All-NBA Second Team: 3 (2006, 2008, 2009)

All-NBA Third Team: 2 (2010, 2015)

Bottom line: Arguably the greatest power forward in NBA history, Tim Duncan won five NBA titles with the Spurs in his 19-year career and became one of the league’s most popular players with a style that flew in the face of what we believe the modern pro athlete should be.

That is, Duncan let his play do the talking. You don’t have to be bombastic to get things done, and Duncan — given the unfortunate nickname “The Big Fundamental” by Shaquille O’Neal — ended up being one of the most beloved players in NBA history.

The Spurs superstar is the only player selected to the All-NBA team and the NBA All-Defensive Team for 13 consecutive seasons.

3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar — 15 (Tie)

Fred Jewell / AP Photo

All-NBA First Team: 10 (1971-74, 1976, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1984, 1986)

All-NBA Second Team: 5 (1970, 1978, 1979, 1983, 1985)

All-NBA Third Team: None

Bottom line: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won six NBA titles and six NBA Most Valuable Player awards and is in the conversation when it comes to the greatest basketball players of all time.

Kareem was always tougher than we gave him credit for. He played in an age where African-American players were fighting for equal rights on and off the floor, and was one of the leaders of that movement.

One stat stands out more than any other. Over two decades after his retirement, Abdul-Jabbar’s 1,797 career games (including the playoffs) are more than anyone in NBA history.

2. Kobe Bryant — 15

Kevork Djansezian / AP Photo

All-NBA First Team: 11 (2002-04, 2006-13)

All-NBA Second Team: 2 (2000, 2001)

All-NBA Third Team: 2(1999, 2005)

Bottom line: The late Kobe Bryant’s legacy was defined by him being a winner. He won five NBA titles in 20 seasons. In the final game of his career, Bryant scored 60 points on 22-of-50 shooting in a 101-96 win over the Utah Jazz, including 10-of-12 from the free-throw line and 6-of-21 from beyond the three-point arc.

Bryant surprisingly only won the NBA Most Valuable Player award once in his career, in 2008, but was also a 12-time NBA All-Defensive Team selection.

Bryant’s popularity was twofold. A wave of fans adopted him early in his career and stuck it out the whole way, and a second wave begrudgingly gave their respect after he won his final two championships with the Lakers in 2009 and 2010.

1. LeBron James — 18

Eric Gay / AP Photo

All-NBA First Team: 13 (2006, 2008-18, 2020)

All-NBA Second Team: 3 (2005, 2007, 2021)

All-NBA Third Team: 2 (2019, 2022)

Bottom line: LeBron James hasn’t just made an NBA record 18 All-NBA Teams — he’s made 18 consecutive All-NBA Teams.

Few players in professional sports history generate as many heated debates as James and what his legacy will ultimately be. The debate boils down to whether or not LeBron James or Michael Jordan is the greatest player who ever lived.

That’s a billion-dollar conversation we’ll be having for quite some time.