Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Joined by Karl-Anthony Towns on All-NBA Teams
LEXINGTON, Ky. – NBA success continues to transpire for Kentucky men’s basketball as recently crowned NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, along with Karl-Anthony Towns, were tabbed to the All-NBA teams as announced Friday night on TNT.
Gilgeous-Alexander drew first-team honors for the third-consecutive season, while Towns earned third-team recognition for the third time in his professional career. It marks the sixth season in a row that a Kentucky men’s basketball product has garnered All-NBA status and the third-consecutive year with multiple selections for the Wildcats.
The NBA scoring champion, Gilgeous-Alexander led the league with 32.7 points per game during the 2024-25 regular season. He is the first UK player to pace the league in scoring in program history. The Hamilton, Ontario, native’s 32.7 points per game was also the most ever in Oklahoma City Thunder history. He poured in 20 or more points in 72-consecutive games and owned the most 20, 30, 40 and 50-point performances this season.
The 6-foot-6 guard’s 72-game streak of 20 or more points was the fourth-longest such streak in NBA history and the longest since Oscar Robertson had a stretch of 76 games in 1963-64. Wilt Chamberlain had two such streaks of 80 games with 20 or more points in 1961-62 and 1963-64.
Gilgeous-Alexander’s historic season was not only marked by being the league’s top scorer, but he also guided the Thunder to the best overall record (68-14) and earned the No. 1 overall seed in the Western Conference for the second consecutive season. He added 6.4 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game, while shooting nearly 52% from the field. He finished the season ranking fourth in steals per game among players to play in at least 70 percent of their team’s games which helped the Thunder rank as the best defensive unit in the league. Gilgeous-Alexander was also 14th in assists per game.
He has the Thunder in the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2016. Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 29.8 points, 6.7 assists and 5.6 rebounds per game thus far in the playoffs. He has scored in double figures in all 13 games and topped the 30-point plateau in nine outings thus far, including a 38-point performance against Minnesota last night in the second game of the Western Conference finals.
Gilgeous-Alexander is seeking to become the first player since Stephen Curry in 2014-15 to win the league’s scoring title, earn MVP honors and capture a championship in the same season. Other players to achieve the feat include Bob Cousy, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Willis Reed, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Moses Malone, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaquille O’Neal, Tim Duncan and Lebron James.
For his career, Gilgeous-Alexander is a three-time NBA All-Star and All-NBA first-team honoree. He was also a member of the NBA Rookie Team in 2019.
In Lexington for the 2017-18 season, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 14.4 points and 5.1 assists. He was named the MVP of the Southeastern Conference Tournament, helping the Wildcats to the title with a win over Tennessee in the championship game. That year, Gilgeous-Alexander was an All-SEC Second Team selection and an All-SEC Freshman Team honoree.
Towns, now in his 10th NBA season and first with the New York Knicks, scored 24.4 points per game in 2024-25 to go along with a career-high 9.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists. He shot 52.6 percent from the field and 42.0 percent from 3-point range, the second highest 3-point field-goal percentage of his career, trailing only his 42.1 percent in 2017-18. Towns also matched his career high with 1.0 steals per contest.
As a part of his 2024-25 campaign, Towns enjoyed a streak of 18-straight games with a double-double and at least one made 3-pointer from Nov. 12 through Dec. 23, the longest such streak in NBA history. He had 58 double-doubles overall in his 72 games played during the regular season, the fourth-most in the league.
The Knicks’ forward helped the team to a 51-31 regular-season record, good enough to earn the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference. In the Playoffs, Towns is averaging 20.9 points and 11.4 rebounds with eight double-doubles in 13 games. His efforts have contributed to the Knicks reaching the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2000.
Towns was tabbed to the NBA All-Star game for the fifth time in his career this year. He now boasts three All-NBA nods to go along with his NBA Rookie of the Year honor in 2016.
The big man was a part of Kentucky’s historic 2014-15 squad which won its first 38 games en route to the Final Four. He was a consensus Second-Team All-American and the SEC Freshman of the Year, averaging 13.9 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.
Kentucky men’s basketball alumni continue to make a major impact on the NBA scene. UK led the country for the 13th straight season with 29 former student-athletes on NBA opening day rosters in 2024-25, while also pacing the nation with 18 representatives in the NBA Playoffs. With at least one player on each of the remaining four finalists, UK is ensured to have a player win an NBA Championship in 2025.
For the latest on the Kentucky men’s basketball team, follow @KentuckyMBB on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, and on the web at UKathletics.com.
