Three former Wildcats named to 2025-26 All-NBA Teams

A group of former Kentucky guards was recognized as three of the world’s top basketball players.

On Sunday night, the NBA announced its three All-NBA Teams for the 2025-26 season. Back-to-back MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder was one of two players tabbed to the First Team as unanimous picks, joining Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets. Meanwhile, Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey and Nuggets guard Jamal Murray received Third Team nods.

This was Gilgeous-Alexander’s fourth straight All-NBA First Team honor. He was also named league MVP for the second consecutive year earlier this month. For both Maxey and Murray, this was the first time making an All-NBA Team in their careers. This was also the fifth season in a row that a former Kentucky player has made an All-NBA Team, and the third time in four seasons we’ve seen at least three make a team.

Other former ‘Cats receiving votes were Karl-Anthony Towns of the New York Knicks and Bam Adebayo of the Miami Heat. Towns picked up one Second Team vote and 11 Third Team votes for 14 total points, while Adebayo checked in with four Third Team votes. The ballot was made up of 100 media voters.

All-NBA honors for the #NBACats 😼👏 pic.twitter.com/urBMmCwR86

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) May 24, 2026

Gilgeous-Alexander is the only UK alum to make an All-NBA Team this season who is still in the playoffs. His Thunder are now tied with the San Antonio Spurs 2-2 after losing Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals on the road Sunday night, 103-82. Despite last night’s L, SGA is still more than deserving of his First Team honor. The 27-year-old led OKC back to the top seed in the West while averaging 31.1 points, 6.6 assists, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.4 steals in 33.2 minutes per outing on shooting splits of 55.3/38.6/87.9.

Maxey, 25, produced his best season yet as a pro for the 76ers, averaging 28.3 points, 6.6 assists, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.9 steals in a league-high 38 minutes per game. He shot 46.2 percent from the field, 36.7 percent from deep, and 89.2 percent from the free-throw line while having to take on more offensive responsibility than usual. Maxey was key in helping Philly upset the Boston Celtics in the first round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs.

Murray also had a breakout season with his individual game. He made his first All-Star Team this season, putting up per-game averages of 25.4 points, 7.1 assists, and 4.4 rebounds in 35.4 minutes. The 29-year-old posted career-highs in field goal percentage (48.3) and three-point percentage (43.5) while knocking down 88.7 percent of his free throws. Alongside Jokic, he and Murray helped Denver finish with a 54-28 regular-season record.

Former Kentucky players continue to dominate the next level. That trend doesn’t look to be going away anytime soon, either.