Even before the season tipped off you had a pretty good sense that LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Chris Paul would be All-NBA First Team — they are dominant players at or entering their peak.
But Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan continue to defy father time.
The two veterans round out the All NBA Team voted on by 119 sportswriters from around the league. This is the 14th time Duncan has made the All-NBA list, but the first time as a center (he was officially a forward with the league, even though he played center).
It’s a good list — we could quibble that I would have had Marc Gasol over Duncan on the first team, but Duncan had a renaissance year and is deserving of the first team. I would have had Brook Lopez on over Dwight Howard on the third team as well. Plus, this is probably the last year Stephen Curry doesn’t make the top three, but the guys on the list all had good years.
If you want to pick things apart — who gave J.J. Hickson, Nikola Pekovic, and Nikola Vucevic third team votes? If those guys are in your top 15 NBA players you’re doing it wrong. We need more transparency in this voting.
Here is the complete list of the All NBA Teams. (The teams must have two guards, two forwards and one center on it. Duncan is considered a center for this.)
FIRST TEAM (with points)
LeBron James, Miami (595)
Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City (555)
Tim Duncan, San Antonio (392)
Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers (521)
Chris Paul, L.A. Clippers (537)
SECOND TEAM (with points)
Carmelo Anthony, New York (397)
Blake Griffin, L.A. Clippers (132)
Marc Gasol, Memphis (295)
Tony Parker, San Antonio (273)
Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City (306)
THIRD TEAM (with points)
David Lee, Golden State (79)
Paul George, Indiana (73)
Dwight Howard, L.A. Lakers (203)
Dwyane Wade, Miami (145)
James Harden, Houston (253)
Other players receiving votes (with point totals):
Brook Lopez, Brooklyn, 132 (7 First Team votes); Stephen Curry, Golden State, 72; LaMarcus Aldridge, Portland, 62; Chris Bosh, Miami, 59 (4); Joakim Noah, Chicago, 56 (3); Zach Randolph, Memphis, 45; Al Horford, Atlanta, 31 (2); Paul Pierce, Boston, 24; Al Jefferson, Utah, 20 (1); Tyson Chandler, New York, 19 (1); Roy Hibbert, Indiana, 9; Luol Deng, Chicago, 8; Kevin Garnett, Boston, 8; Ty Lawson, Denver, 8; Josh Smith, Atlanta, 7; Deron Williams, Brooklyn, 6; Pau Gasol, LA Lakers, 4; Serge Ibaka, Oklahoma City, 4; Omer Asik, Houston, 3; Kenneth Faried, Denver, 3; Raymond Felton, New York, 3; Kyrie Irving, Cleveland, 3; Carlos Boozer, Chicago, 2; Mike Conley, Memphis, 2; David West, Indiana, 2; Rudy Gay, Toronto, 1; J.J. Hickson, Portland, 1; Andre Iguodala, Denver, 1; Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas, 1; Nikola Pekovic, Minnesota, 1; Rajon Rondo, Boston, 1; Nikola Vucevic, Orlando, 1.