As the Association continues to roll out the hardware OKC Thunder stars Russell Westbrook and Paul George earn All-NBA honors.
After just missing out on All-Defensive team honors the OKC Thunder landed two of their stars on All-NBA lists. Not surprisingly Russell Westbrook made the second team and Paul George earns a spot on the third team. This is the seventh time Westbrook has made the lists and fourth time for George.
The NBA rolled out the All-NBA lists Thursday for arguably the most prestigious of the team list honors. All-NBA represents the top 15 players as selected by a group of preselected sportswriters and broadcasters. Pundits select two guards, two forwards and a center for the trio of lists. Points are assigned based on which team the player is put in with five, three and one designated respectively.
Here’s the specific players who made the three teams. The bracketed number reflects the total number of times the player has been selected to an All-NBA list.
First Team All-NBA:
- James Harden, Houston Rockets – guard (5)
- Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers – guard (3)
- LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers – forward (14/*12 to first team, an NBA record)
- Kevin Durant, Golden State Warriors – forward (8)
- Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans – power forward (3)
Second Team All-NBA:
- Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder – guard (7)
- DeMar DeRozan,Toronto Raptors – guard (2)
- Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks – forward (2)
- LaMarcus Aldridge, San Antonio Spurs – forward/center (5)
- Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers – center (1)
Third Team All-NBA:
- Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors -guard (5)
- Victor Oladipo, Indiana Pacers – guard (1)
- Paul George, Oklahoma City Thunder – guard (4)
- Jimmy Butler, Minnesota Timberwolves – forward/guard (2)
- Karl-Anthony Towns, , Minnesota Timberwolves – center/forward (1)
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Harden, James and Davis making the first team is not surprising given they are also up for the MVP award. Perhaps the one surprise is Damian Lillard landing on the first team ahead of Westbrook. Hey, Dame is owed some love after copious All-Star snubs.
Still, it just goes to show how quickly the narrative can change. Last season averaging a triple-double over the season was deemed impossible and led to an MVP. This season it doesn’t warrant landing on a first team.
In fact, for those curious on the specifics NBA.com states fans can peruse the details of who voted and how they voted.
"Complete voting results by media member will be posted at pr.nba.com the night of the NBA Awards presented by Kia. Click here for the list of 100 media voters for the 2017-18 All-NBA Teams."
Next: Westbrook Season Review - Twice in a lifetime
As per above, those curious fans will have to wait until June 25th to get these details. That is when the second annual NBA Awards will take place.