The NBA awards honors to the best offensive and defensive players in the league every season: the All-NBA teams and the All-Defensive teams. The All-NBA teams recognize the best performers in each position, regardless of their defensive abilities. Let’s face it, these players are offensive beasts! The All-Defensive teams reward the best defenders in each position, regardless of their offensive skills.
Both honors are voted by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters, who select five players for the first team, five players for the second team, and five players for the third team in each category. These players are simply outstanding and are usually the players with the best seasons helping them make the team.
Making either of these teams is a prestigious achievement, as it reflects the player’s excellence and impact on the court. But making both of them in the same season is even more impressive, as it shows the player’s versatility and dominance on both ends of the floor.
However, not many players have accomplished this feat in NBA history. Only 29 players have made the 1st team All-NBA and the 1st team All-Defense in the same season since the latter was introduced in 1968-69. 19 of these remarkable players have done it more than once.
Here is the list of the players who have made the 1st team All-NBA and the 1st team All-Defense in the same season, along with the number of times they have done it and the seasons they have done it in:
(Click a year for the summary)
| Player | # of Seasons | Seasons |
| WillisReed | 1 | 1970 |
| Bill Walton | 1 | 1978 |
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 1 | 1980 |
| Dennis Johnson | 1 | 1981 |
| Moses Malone | 1 | 1983 |
| Sidney Moncrief | 1 | 1983 |
| Kevin McHale | 1 | 1987 |
| Joakim Noah | 1 | 2014 |
| DeAndre Jordan | 1 | 2016 |
| Paul George | 1 | 2019 |
| Jerry West | 2 | 1972, 1973 |
| Gary Payton | 2 | 1998, 2000 |
| Jason Kidd | 2 | 2001, 2002 |
| Kawhi Leonard | 2 | 2016, 2017 |
| Anthony Davis | 2 | 2018, 2020 |
| John Havlicek | 3 | 1972, 1973, 1974 |
| Scottie Pippen | 3 | 1994, 1995, 1996 |
| Karl Malone | 3 | 1997, 1998, 1999 |
| Chris Paul | 3 | 2012, 2013, 2014 |
| Walt Frazier | 4 | 1970, 1972,1974,1975 |
| Hakeem Olajuwon | 4 | 1987, 1988, 1993, 1994 |
| David Robinson | 4 | 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996 |
| Kevin Garnett | 4 | 2000, 2003, 2004, 2008 |
| Dwight Howard | 4 | 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 |
| Giannis Antetokounmpo | 4 | 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 |
| LeBron James | 5 | 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 |
| Tim Duncan | 7 | 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007 |
| Kobe Bryant | 8 | 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 |
| Michael Jordan | 9 | 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998 |
As we can see, the most frequent achiever of this feat is Michael Jordan, who did it nine times in his career, including six times in his championship seasons with the Chicago Bulls. He is widely regarded as the greatest player of all time, and his combination of scoring, playmaking, and defense is unmatched in NBA history.
The only other players who have done it four times or more are Kobe Bryant, Tim Ducan, LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, David Robinson, Hakeem Olajuwon, Dwight Howard, Kevin Garnett, and Walt Frazier. They are all Hall of Famers or future Hall of Famers, and they are all known for their dominant play offensively and defensively.
Making the 1st team All-NBA and the 1st team All-Defense in the same season is a rare and remarkable achievement only a few players have attained in the history of the NBA. It is a testament to their excellence, versatility, and impact on both court ends. It is also a strong indicator of their success, as most of them have won championships or MVP awards in their careers. They are the elite of the elite, and they deserve to be recognized and celebrated for their accomplishments!
