The All-NBA Team is a yearly honor given to the best players in the league after every NBA season. The honorees are chosen by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters in the United States and Canada. The All-NBA teams have been selected since the league started in 1946 but in 1988, the teams were expanded from two to three.
The panel will vote for a total of 15 players for the three All-NBA teams and they are voted according to position. Since 1956, each team is composed of two guards, two forwards, and one center. A player receives five points for a First team vote, three points for a Second-team vote, and two points for a Third-team vote. The five players with the highest total comprise the first team, and the next five the second team and so forth. In the case of a tie, the roster is expanded. However, a tie has only occurred once in 1952 when Dolph Schayes and Bob Davies got the same number of votes.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, and LeBron James have each been selected to 15 All-NBA teams, the most by any players in the history of the league. James leads all players with a total of 12 First Team selections while Bryant and Karl Malone follow him with eleven apiece.
James is a cinch to add to his record with his impressive performance during the 2019-20 NBA season. King James was a First-team selection from 2008-18 but after an injury-plagued 2019 season which saw his Lakers miss the playoffs, he was demoted to the Third team during the 2018-19 season. James’ Lakers rebounded with a big 2019-20 season with the acquisition of Anthony Davis.
Here are our picks to make the 2020 All-NBA teams :
When arriving at our first team, we had two locks in Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James. These two were undoubtedly the best players in the league during the 2019-20 season and they led their respective teams to the best record in their conferences.
Giannis led the Bucks to the best record in the league. Antetokounmpo had the best defensive rating in the NBA this season and he was third in both scoring and rebounding. He did all these by playing less than 30 minutes per game which makes him more impressive.
James led the Lakers to the best record in the West. He was the NBA’s assists leader at 10.6 per game and was 11th overall in scoring. King James is already 35 years old and playing in his 17th season but after being limited by a groin injury last season, he’s come back stronger this year and was the only player who had the right to challenge Giannis for the MVP award.
Anthony Davis has made a big difference for the Lakers this season. The Brow started 2019-20 wanting to be the 2020 Defensive Player of the Year and at this stage of the year, he is favored to win that award. Davis led the Lakers in scoring and was tied for second in blocks at 2.4 swats per game. He was also averaging 1.5 steals per game, 15th in the NBA. Davis and Andre Drummond were the only centers in the Top 15 in steals this season.
James Harden started the 2019-20 season on fire. He was putting up ridiculous scoring numbers and was an unstoppable force. However, he slowed down mid-season and continued to struggle as the season was suspended. Despite that, Harden’s body of work was impressive. He led the league in scoring at 34.4 points per game and was 9th in the league in passing at 7.4 assists per game.
The other guard spot was a choice between Luka Doncic and Damian Lillard. Both had very productive seasons with Doncic averaging 28.7 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 8.7 assists per game and Lillard putting up 28.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 7.8 assists per game. However, my choice is Doncic because he led the Mavericks to the 7th best record in the West.
If Anthony Davis were classified as forward, Nikola Jokic would’ve easily been the center for the First Team. The Joker was no joke this season. He had a slow start but as the seasons progressed, he showed the form that made people call him one of the unicorns in the NBA.
Jokic led the Nuggets to the third-best record in the league and he averaged a career-high 20.2 points plus a league 9th-best 10.2 rebounds, and 6.9 assists per game this season. He also shot 52.8% from the field, second-best in his career while also having the 8th best Player Efficiency Rating at 25.08 according to ESPN.
Kawhi Leonard continued his dominance this season. The Klaw led the Toronto Raptors to their first-ever NBA title last season and then signed with the Clippers this offseason. The Clippers immediately became preseason title favorites as they also acquired Paul George in a trade. Leonard had a very good 2019-20 season as he averaged 26.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 1.8 steals per game. Leonard and James Harden were the only players in the NBA to join the Top 8 in scoring and steals.
Jimmy Butler’s previous two stops didn’t end up well but it seems that he has found a home with the Miami Heat. Butler is known for his hard-nosed defense and blue-collar style of play and he has impacted his Miami teammates this year. The Heat missed the playoffs last season but had the 4th best record in the East when play was suspended. Butler was averaging 20.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, 6.1 assists, and 1.7 steals per game.
Damian Lillard probably belongs to the First team and I won’t be surprised if he will be included there when the real voting comes. Dame had a ranked 5th in the NBA in scoring and was 8th in passing. He averaged over 30 points per game in 2020 and scored at least 50 points three times this season. As I said previously, the only knock on him is that the Blazers had a bad season.
Russell Westbrook going to Houston looked like a bad idea at first. But Mike D’Antoni has a way of making unusual things work. Russ didn’t look very comfortable at first but as the season progressed and Harden had his struggles, he picked up the pace and became a force. Westbrook may no longer be averaging in a triple-double this season but he put up 27.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 7.0 assists per game while playing alongside another ball-dominant player in Harden.
The first two teams were not so hard to pick. The Third team was. Joel Embiid and Rudy Gobert were both dominant in their ways for their respective teams. And while some think that Embiid deserves this spot more than Gobert because the latter doesn’t produce much on offense, I will disagree.
Gobert’s offense is more than just scoring. He sets terrific picks that help his teammates get shots or lead to open baskets. He also averaged 15.7 points and a modest 1.5 assists per game. But when it comes to defense, Gobert ranked 4th in rebounding at 13.7 rebounds per game and he was 6th in blocks at 2.0 per game.
Pascal Siakam took his game to another level after Kawhi Leonard left. After winning the 2019 Most Improved Player Award, Spicy P continued to improve. This season, he led the Raptors in scoring at 23.6 points per game, a career-high for him. He also added 7.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.0 steal per game. Don’t forget too that the Raptors have the second-best record in the East.
Jayson Tatum emerged as the superstar for the Celtics this season. The third-year man averaged 23.6 points, 7.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.4 steals per game this season. Tatum earned his first All-Star selection and he led the Celtics to the third-best record in the East.
Trae Young had his breakout season in 2019-20. After he was traded for Doncic in last year’s draft, many wondered if the Hawks made the wrong move. He proved them wrong this year as he was 4th in the league in scoring at 29.3 points per game and 2nd in passing at 9.6 assists per contest.
Chris Paul’s career was going downhill last season when he was with the Rockets but after he was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder, the point god was resurrected. Playing alongside Danilo Gallinari and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Paul led the OKC Thunder to the fifth-best record in the Western Conference. Paul also had a big bounce-back year as he averaged 17.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, 6.8 assists, and an impressive 1.6 steals per game.
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