The All-NBA 1st team selections were announced prior to tip off of Game 4 between the Golden State Warriors and Dallas Mavericks, and it featured one of the youngest lineups in league history.
Every player selected for the 1st team was 27 years old or younger, marking the first time that’s happened since 1954-55. Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, Jayson Tatum and Devin Booker were selected for the first team, with Giannis receiving all 100 first team votes for the 4th season in a row.
Much like the regular season MVP results, voters were split between Jokic and Embiid at the centre position, however many ballots featured both players, with one at a forward position and his counterpart at centre. In the end, the Serbian national team player once more edged out the 76ers big man for the league’s top honour.
Embiid did however receive 2nd team all NBA billing at centre, being joined by Steph Curry, Ja Morant, Kevin Durant, and DeMar DeRozan. The third team featured Chris Paul, Trae Young, LeBron James, Pascal Siakam, and Karl-Anthony Towns.
With the announcement, several firsts were made, as well as records extended including: LeBron extending his NBA record 18th All-NBA selection record, Chris Paul became only the 2nd guard behind Kobe Bryant to be selected to an All-NBA team in his 17th season or later, and Tatum became the youngest Celtics player to make the All-NBA list since Larry Bird.
When all was said and done, the All-NBA teams were a perfect blend of grizzled vets (James, Durant, Curry, Paul) and up and coming superstars (Young, Doncic, Tatum, Morant).
Photo: Keith Allison. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.