A day after revealing the All-NBA Defensive first and second teams, the league announced the All-NBA First and Second Teams on Thursday. And similar to the voting results of this season's MVP award, Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry was unanimously selected for the All-NBA First Team.
Joining Curry are Cavs superstar LeBron James, San Antonio Spurs defensive stud Kawhi Leonard, Thunder All-Star Russell Westbrook and Clippers center DeAndre Jordan. For James, this is his tenth straight All-NBA first team honor, tying seven other players - one of which is Michael Jordan - for the second-most first team selections. This is the first All-NBA selection for Westbrook, Jordan and Leonard.
The All-NBA second team consists of Thunder All-Star Kevin Durant, Warriors big man Draymond Green, Kings center DeMarcus Cousins, Clippers guard Chris Paul and Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard. Making the Second Team is quite the achievement for Lillard not only because he didn't make the All-Star team but also because he will now get an extra $20 million dollars due to a contract incentive (along with some sort of redemption).
Raptors guard Kyle Lowry, Pacers superstar Paul George, Spurs big man LaMarcus Aldridge, Warriors guard Klay Thompson and Pistons center Andre Drummond were selected for the All-NBA Third Team.
Here's how the voting broke down:
Curry (645 total points) and James (637 points) are three players making their debuts on the All-NBA First Team: Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (627 points, 120 First Team votes), San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard (575 points, 94 First Team votes) and Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan (317 points, 39 First Team votes).
The All-NBA Second Team consists of forwards Kevin Durant of the Thunder and Draymond Green of the Warriors, center DeMarcus Cousins of the Sacramento Kings and guards Chris Paul of the Clippers and Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers.
The All-NBA Third Team is composed of forwards Paul George of the Indiana Pacers and LaMarcus Aldridge of the Spurs, center Andre Drummond of the Detroit Pistons and guards Klay Thompson of the Warriors and Kyle Lowry of the Toronto Raptors.
Other players receiving votes, with point totals (First Team votes in parentheses): James Harden, Houston, 106; Paul Millsap, Atlanta,84; Anthony Davis, New Orleans, 76 (1); Al Horford, Atlanta, 76 (2); Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota, 44; DeMar DeRozan, Toronto, 26; Hassan Whiteside, Miami, 24 (1); Isaiah Thomas, Boston, 20; Pau Gasol, Chicago, 16 (2); Jimmy Butler, Chicago, 12; Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas, 8; John Wall, Washington, 7; Kemba Walker, Charlotte, 6; Tim Duncan, San Antonio, 3; Gordon Hayward, Utah, 3; Dwight Howard, Houston, 3; Carmelo Anthony, New York, 2; Marc Gasol, Memphis, 2; Andrew Bogut, Golden State, 1; Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers, 1; Brook Lopez, Brooklyn, 1; Tony Parker, San Antonio, 1.
Rookie of the Year Karl-Anthony Thomas garnering 44 First Team votes is pretty interesting to see, as it's a sign that he could likely be on an All-NBA team in the very near future.
Harden's complete drop-off from all three teams is quite notable since he was an All-Star, second in the league in scoring and was on the All-NBA first team in 2015. Another notable miss is Pelicans center Anthony Davis, who was injured for the majority of the season. Because of that injury, the New Orleans big man will miss out on $23-24 million bonus since he failed to reach a contract incentive that would've paid him if he was selected.
For a more thorough breakdown of the votes and to see who voted for who, visit the NBA's website.
