LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo were the best players on the best regular-season teams in each conference. It’s fitting they were the only two unanimous selections to the All-NBA First Team.
The league announced the All-NBA teams on Wednesday, and LeBron had his defensive-minded teammate Anthony Davis with him on the First Team, even if it is at a position Davis played just 40% of the time in the regular season. Here are the All-NBA teams, as voted on by a select group of media members.
ALL NBA TEAMS
First team
G: Luka Doncic, Mavericks
G: James Harden, Rockets
F: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks
F: LeBron James, Lakers
C: Anthony Davis, Lakers
Second team
G: Chris Paul, Thunder
G: Damian Lillard, Trail Blazers
F: Kawhi Leonard, Clippers
F: Pascal Siakam, Raptors
C: Nikola Jokic, Nuggets
Third team
G: Ben Simmons, 76ers
G: Russell Westbrook, Rockets
F: Jayson Tatum, Celtics
F: Jimmy Butler, Heat
C: Rudy Gobert, Jazz
Some notes on the selections:
• Milwaukee’s Khris Middleton was next in line at the forward spot to make the team, but he was well behind Butler for the final spot.
• Joel Embiid received the fourth most votes at center.
• Bradley Beal was next in line for a guard spot, but despite averaging 30.5 points a game (second in the league), finished seventh among guards.
• LeBron, at age 35, becomes the third-oldest player to make an All-NBA team (Karl Malone at 36, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at 36 and 38).
• This could be big money for Jokic: If he makes an All-NBA team next season he will be eligible for a super-max extension. And the Nuggets would have to pay it.
• The starting salary in Pascal Siakam’s extension will now be worth 28% of the salary cap, not just 25%.
• Oklahoma City has had a player on the All-NBA team for 11 straight seasons, the longest current streak in the league.
• Voting, by 100 members of the media, was based solely on games before the league shut down in March. None of the bubble games counted towards this award.