The two Most Valuable Player frontrunners in Houston Rockets guard James Harden and Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo lead the 15-man shortlist of the 2018-19 All-NBA selections:
The All-NBA Teams: pic.twitter.com/ZdTEWdDEAo
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) May 23, 2019
Both Antetokounmpo and Harden, two of the three finalists fro the MVP award were named unanimous selections, while the third finalist Paul George of the Oklahoma City Thunder received 71 first team votes to land on the First Team.
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic won a narrow battle against Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid, totaling 59 First Team votes and landing as the best center in the league in his first All-NBA selection.
Stephen Curry obtained his sixth All-Star selection, with 91 First Team votes, accompanied by Golden State Warriors teammate Kevin Durant, who mustered the other 29 votes First Team votes and finished backing up George in the Second Team.
Kyrie Irving of the Boston Celtics and Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers make up the backcourt of the Second Team All-NBA while Kawhi Leonard landed a spot in this team after playing only nine games last season, now fully recovered from a quad injury.
The biggest surprise of them all was LeBron James, who was named to the Third Team for the first time in his 16-year NBA career in what was an injury-riddled season that saw him miss the playoffs.
Charlotte Hornets point man Kemba Walker earned a spot on the All-NBA Third Team, his first-ever selection at a very timely spot. The three-time All-Star will now qualify for the supermax provision, allowing him to make as much as $221 million over five seasons by re-signing with his home team.
Oklahoma City Thunder point man Russell Westbrook made the Third Team after logging his third straight triple-double season, while Blake Griffin of the Detroit Pistons and Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz round out the 15 selections.
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