Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James and Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry earned unanimous selections to the All-NBA first team Thursday, garnering 129 first-team votes apiece.
They are joined on the first team by Houston Rockets guard James Harden (125 first-team votes), New Orleans Pelicans forward/center Anthony Davis (119) and Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol (65).
The All-NBA second team consists of Oklahoma City guard Russell Westbrook, Portland Trail Blazers forward/center LaMarcus Aldridge, Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul, Chicago Bulls center Pau Gasol and Sacramento Kings center/forward DeMarcus Cousins.
The third team comprises Clippers forward Blake Griffin and center DeAndre Jordan, San Antonio Spurs forward/center Tim Duncan, Warriors guard Klay Thompson and Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving.
James was selected to the All-NBA first team for the eighth straight season and ninth time overall. He led Cleveland to the second-best record in the East at 53-29, although the Cavs went just 3-10 when James didn’t play. The 11-time All-Star averaged 25.3 points and 7.4 assists per game.
“I’ve been able to play at a high level for a long time. I take my craft very seriously. I try to be the best I can be every single night when I’m out on the floor. To be rewarded again, it means a lot. I’ve done something pretty cool in my career so far, and hopefully I can continue,” James said Thursday.
Along with Irving’s selection to the third team, the Cavs were one of three teams with multiple players selected for All-NBA honors. The Clippers had three players honored: Paul, Griffin and Jordan. The Warriors had two: Curry and Thompson.
League MVP Curry and backcourtmate Thompson led Golden State to a franchise-record 67 wins in the regular season. Curry broke his own record for made 3-pointers, connecting on 286 from beyond the arc. He averaged 23.8 points, 7.7 assists and 2.04 steals per game, leading the league in free throw percentage (91.4) and ranking fourth in 3-point percentage (44.3). Curry is the first Warriors player to be named to the All-NBA first team since Latrell Sprewell in 1993-94.
It is the second consecutive All-NBA first-team selection for Harden, who finished second in the league in scoring and in the MVP voting during the regular season. He is the first Rocket with back-to-back All-NBA first-team selections since Hakeem Olajuwon (1992-93 and 1993-94). Harden averaged 27.4 points and seven assists in 2014-15. In a breakout season, Harden became the first player in league history to make 700 or more free throws and 200 or more three-point field goals in a single season. During the postseason, Harden is averaging 26.8 points and 8.1 assists per game.
Davis led the league in blocks with 2.94 per game and carried the Pelicans to their first playoff berth since 2011. Davis, who averaged a double-double with 24.4 points and 10.2 rebounds per game, is the first player to be named to the All-NBA first team within his first three seasons since Bulls guard Derrick Rose in 2010-11.
Marc Gasol set a career high in scoring average at 17.4 per game. He was named an All-Star for the second time in his career and earned his first All-Star Game start. He is the first Spanish-born player to be named to the All-NBA first team.
Duncan’s selection was the 15th in his career, tying Kobe Bryant and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most in NBA history. Duncan, 39, also becomes the oldest player to receive all-NBA honors since Abdul-Jabbar in the 1985-86 season, when the Hall of Famer was 38 years old.
The top six players who missed out on all-NBA honors were Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard (155 points) Atlanta Hawks forward Paul Millsap (70), Hawks forward Al Horford (64, with 1 first-team vote), Washington Wizards guard John Wall (50), Bulls forward Jimmy Butler (32) and Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (22).
Wall tweeted after the results were released:
Points for All-NBA honors are awarded on a 5-3-1 basis: 5 points for a first-team vote, 3 for second, 1 for third. Here’s the full breakdown:
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