Awards season is winding down, which means it's time for the annual All-NBA Team selections. These teams are now position-less, with the top five vote-getters earning First-Team honors, the next five getting Second Team, and the final five making the Third Team.
As with other prominent NBA awards, All-NBA teams are subject to the 65-game minimum for eligibility.
How All-NBA Status Affects Max Contract Eligibility
Within the Collective Bargaining Agreement, All-NBA selections determine which players become eligible for higher max contracts through either the Derrick Rose rule or the designated veteran "supermax" rule.
The Derrick Rose rule allows players with 0-6 years of experience to receive 30% of the cap at the start of their next deal rather than the standard 25%. The designated veteran rule applies a similar bump for players with 7-9 years of experience, increasing from 30% to 35% of the cap.
Eligibility Criteria for Bigger Max Contracts
- Selected for All-NBA in two of the previous three seasons, or the most recent season
- Selected as Defensive Player of the Year in two of the previous three seasons, or the most recent season
- Won the MVP award in any of the last three seasons
Players Unaffected by All-NBA Selections
Victor Wembanyama was both an All-NBA selection and the Defensive Player of the Year this season, but he hasn't earned Rose Rule eligibility yet. To qualify on a rookie extension, a player must achieve it in their second or third season, or separately in their fourth season.
Wembanyama will likely sign a max rookie extension that bumps him to 30% if he's an All-NBA selection next season. The same principle applies to everyone else from the 2023 draft class.
No player from the 2024 draft class made All-NBA either last year or this year, so none can clinch eligibility next season. They'll need to earn Rose Rule eligibility in their fourth season (2027-28).
Players from the 2021 draft class who signed five-year rookie extensions, like Cunningham and Johnson, are too far from extension eligibility. They'd need to make All-NBA in 2027 and 2028 to secure eligibility.
Players with 10 or more years of experience—like Nikola Jokić now, or Dončić and Mitchell upon contract expiration—are already eligible for 35% of the cap through experience alone.
Players Whose Futures Depended on All-NBA Selection
When a player qualifies for a Rose Rule bump, teams almost always deliver it. Evan Mobley and Cade Cunningham achieved two All-NBA selections in the last two seasons. Anthony Edwards and Tyrese Haliburton both received their 30% one year early.
In all four cases, those players signed rookie-scale extensions with Rose Rule language already built in. They were viewed as max-level players—it was just a matter of which max they would receive.
Jalen Duren's Situation
That wasn't the case for Jalen Duren and the Detroit Pistons. Duren didn't sign a rookie extension, making his situation different from the players mentioned above.