The three finalists for the NBA Most Valuable Player award -- Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden and Paul George -- led the balloting for the All-NBA teams, which were announced by the league Thursday afternoon.
Milwaukee's Antetokounmpo and Oklahoma City's George were named to the two forward spots on the first team; Stephen Curry of Golden State joined Houston's Harden as the guards. Rounding out the first team was Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic. Antetokounmpo and Harden were unanimous selections.
By making a second consecutive All-NBA team, Antetokounmpo put himself in line to receive the largest contract in NBA history next summer: a five-year deal from the Bucks worth $247.3 million, according to ESPN's Bobby Marks. Antetokounmpo will be one year away from free agency next July.
LeBron James was not a first team All-NBA selection for the first time since 2007, when he was named to the second team.
James did, however, extend his streak of consecutive All-NBA selections to 15 -- tying him with Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most in NBA history -- by earning a third-team nod in his first year with the Los Angeles Lakers.
The second team consisted of Damian Lillard and Kyrie Irving at guard, Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard at forward and Joel Embiid at center.
Beyond James, the third team consisted of Russell Westbrook and Kemba Walker at guard, Blake Griffin at forward and Rudy Gobert at center.
Thursday was a hugely important player for several players and teams, as it determined whether or not they would be eligible for a designated veteran extension this summer -- better known as a "supermax" -- by making it onto one of the three All-NBA teams. Specifically, Lilllard and Walker qualified, while Bradley Beal and Klay Thompson did not.
Now, the Portland Trail Blazers have a decision to make regarding whether to extend an extension to Lillard worth four years and $191 million this summer, while the Charlotte Hornets must decide if he should give a five-year, $221 contract to Walker as a free agent on July 1, with both numbers according to Marks.
Lillard is expected to sign the extension in July, per sources, while it is unclear, after the Hornets missed the playoffs, what Walker will decide to do as an unrestricted free agent.