James ties mark as All-NBA pick
NEW YORK — For Cleveland’s LeBron James, there was history. For Houston’s James Harden, there was affirmation.
And for Indiana’s Paul George and Utah’s Gordon Hayward, a chance at signing contracts exceeding $200 million this summer is gone.
James and Harden headlined the All-NBA first team unveiled by the league Thursday. James made the first team for a record-tying 11th time, matching the mark set by Kobe Bryant and Karl Malone. And Harden was the only player to be unanimously selected by a global panel of sportswriters and broadcasters as a first-teamer this year, returning to that group for the third time in four seasons.
Joining James and Harden on the first team were Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook, San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard and New Orleans’ Anthony Davis. Davis, Leonard and Westbrook are first-teamers for the second time.
Harden was not an All-NBA pick for the 2015-16 season despite averaging 29 points, 7.5 rebounds and 6.1 assists. Rockets general manager Daryl Morey referenced the perceived slight in a post on Twitter: “Happy James Harden was able to bounce back from his tough 29/8/6 performance last season to prove again he is one of the 15 best NBA players.”
James and Westbrook were on 99 first-team ballots and second-team selections on the other ballot. Leonard was a first-teamer on 96 ballots, second-team on three and third-team on one.
Perhaps as significant a story as who made the team was who did not.
George and Hayward fell well short of making any of the three All-NBA teams, which means they will not be eligible to get “supermax” extensions from Indiana and Utah this summer, leading to more questions about their futures with those franchises. George is under contract with the Pacers for next season, while Hayward is likely to elect to become a free agent this summer.
All three All-NBA teams have two guards, two forwards and one center.
Harden and Westbrook were runaway choices at guard, while James and Leonard were easy picks at forward. Davis barely held off Utah’s Rudy Gobert for the first-team center spot, finishing with 343 points to Gobert’s 339. Davis appeared on 95 of the 100 ballots; Gobert appeared on 91.
Besides Gobert, the second-team selections were Golden State’s Stephen Curry and Boston’s Isaiah Thomas at guard, with Golden State’s Kevin Durant and Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo at forward.
Third-team selections were Washington’s John Wall and Toronto’s DeMar DeRozan at guard, Golden State’s Draymond Green and Chicago’s Jimmy Butler at forward and DeAndre Jordan of the Los Angeles Clippers at center.