Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic highlight All-NBA team
To say the future of the NBA is bright might be the understatement of the year.
The 2021-22 All-NBA Teams were announced on Tuesday night, and for the first time in 67 years, the first team is made up entirely of players 27 years or younger.
Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic and Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Dončić highlight the league's All-NBA team. They are joined by Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker and Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum on the first team.
Antetokounmpo – who ranked third in the NBA in scoring this season (29.9 ppg) and sixth in rebounding (11.6 rpg) – was the only player to receive all 100 possible first-team votes and finished with 500 points in his fourth consecutive first-team selection. He is the first player over the last 50 years to be a unanimous selection to the All-NBA first team in four consecutive seasons.
Dončić joined Tim Duncan, Kevin Durant and Max Zaslofsky as the only players to make the first team three or more times before turning 24, while Booker and Tatum both were first-time selections to the first team.
"It just shows where he's going and his growth," Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd said of Dončić. "What he does for this team is incredible."
Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid, the NBA’s leading scorer and runner-up to Jokic for MVP, led the second team. He was joined by Ja Morant, Durant, Stephen Curry and DeMar DeRozan.
The third team was Karl-Anthony Towns, LeBron James, Chris Paul, Trae Young and Pascal Siakam.
This marks James' 18th All-NBA selection, adding to his own NBA record for most all-time. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan are next on the list with 15 each.