2017-18 All-NBA Teams

[Stark]

First Team
G - Damian Lillard
G - James Harden (unanimous)
F - LeBron James (unanimous); 12th appearance on All-NBA 1st team (NBA Record)
F - Kevin Durant
C - Anthony Davis

Second Team
G - Russell Westbrook
G - DeMar DeRozan
F - Giannis Antetokounmpo
F - LaMarcus Aldridge
C - Joel Embiid

Third Team
G - Stephen Curry
G - Victor Oladipo
F - Jimmy Butler
F - Paul George
C - Karl-Anthony Towns

Other players receiving votes, with point totals: Chris Paul (Houston), 54; Rudy Gobert (Utah), 51; Kyrie Irving (Boston), 42; Ben Simmons (Philadelphia), 36; Al Horford (Boston), 32; Nikola Jokic (Denver), 28; Andre Drummond (Detroit), 7; Clint Capela (Houston), 6; Draymond Green (Golden State), 6; Kyle Lowry (Toronto), 3; Steven Adams (Oklahoma City), 2; Donovan Mitchell (Utah), 2; Klay Thompson (Golden State), 2; Trevor Ariza (Houston), 1; DeMarcus Cousins (New Orleans), 1; Dwight Howard (Charlotte), 1; Kevin Love (Cleveland), 1; Kristaps Porzingis (New York), 1.

 

[Stark]

My initial thoughts (with some stats from NBA.com):

• Glad to see Lillard make first team. Thought he deserved it even though his squad collapsed in the playoffs. Sure as hell deserved it over Westbrook and Curry, at least in my opinion. He tied for fourth in the NBA in scoring average, the highest finish by a Portland player since Clyde Drexler was fourth in the 1991-92 season. Lillard had the NBA’s third-highest free throw percentage and tied for sixth in three-pointers made with 227.
• Harden was a given, no qualms there, even about him being unanimous.
• LeBron was another given. Glad to see he was unanimous. Now has the most first team selections in NBA history.
• I could have seen an argument for Giannis on the first team over Durant, but I know there was no way that was happening since the media votes on it. Durant was sixth in scoring and fifth in blocks.
• Anthony Davis was another given. Best big in basketball. First player to have at least 2,000 points, 800 rebounds, 150 blocks and 100 steals in a season since David Robinson in 1995-96.

• Westbrook averaged a triple-double again, but his team blew ass largely because of him, so settling in on the second team is fine by me.
• DeRozan on the second team is alright with me. He and Toronto had a great regular season.
• If I would've had a vote, Giannis would have been first team and Durant would've been in this spot. Averaged career highs in scoring, rebounding, and field goal percentage - most PPG by a buck since Alcindor.
• Aldridge surprised me this year with the Spurs. Put up 23/8.5 on 51% shooting as a first option that I'm sure he didn't expect to be. Perfectly fine with him on the second team.
• Embiid was fantastic in the regular season and is a finalist for DPOY. Stayed healthy for the most part and had a great year. No qualms here.

• Glad Curry didn't make one of the first two teams, not just because I can't stand him, but because he didn't deserve it honestly over the other guards ahead of him. Another great shooting season, but in that system with that team, he better have had a damn good year.
• Glad that Oladipo made the team over Kyrie. Led that Pacers team further than anybody thought they would this season. Got away from team-killer Russell Westbrook and flourished in a tough-nosed Indiana system.
• Not sure about George making the third team. He played some great defense this year but was part of an underwhelming OKC team. Would have thought about Simmons over George, but I don't have any major problems with PG making the team.
• Jimmy Butler had an underrated year in Minnesota, only hindered by the fact that he played 59 games. Fine with him in this forward slot here, but if he was classified as a guard, I would've understood CP3 or Kyrie over him.
• Towns is fantastic on offense, horrible on defense. Gobert and Jokic gave him a run for his money, but I'm alright with the Towns pick.

Oh, and whoever gave Trevor Ariza a third team vote needs banished from the NBA community.

 

[PIP]

Yay