NEW YORK -- The Miami Heat's LeBron James, the
2012-13 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player and winner of four of the previous
five MVP awards, highlights the 2012-13 All-NBA First Team. James was
the only player to receive all 119 First Team votes.
Joining
James on the First Team are Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder,
Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs, Chris Paul of the Los Angeles
Clippers, and Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers. For Bryant, his
11th First Team nod ties him with Hall of Famer Karl Malone for the most
such selections. Bryant had been tied at 10 with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar,
Elgin Baylor, Bob Cousy, Michael Jordan, Bob Pettit and Jerry West.
Pacing
the Heat to a league-best and franchise-record 66-16 mark, James was
the only player in the NBA to lead his team in scoring (26.8 ppg),
rebounding (8.0 rpg) and assists (7.3 apg). He shot a career high from
the field (.565) and from three-point range (.406). Additionally, James
led the NBA in score differential (+9.5) and player impact estimate
(22.1 percent), according to NBA.com/Stats, in the process becoming the
youngest player in NBA history to post eight different 2,000-point
seasons, and the youngest player to reach the 20,000-point plateau.
Bryant,
an All-NBA First Team selection for the eighth straight season, scored
2,133 points, averaging 27.3 points. This season, he moved past Wilt
Chamberlain for fourth on the NBA's all-time scoring list.
Additionally,
Bryant eclipsed the 2,000-point mark in a single season for the eighth
time in his 17-year NBA career, in the process becoming just the fourth
player in NBA history to score 2,000 points in a season at age 34 or
older, joining Alex English, Jordan and Malone, each of whom did so
twice.
Duncan earns his 10th First Team selection and first since
2006-07. In his 16th NBA campaign, Duncan averaged 17.8 points, 9.9
rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.65 blocks, ranking third overall in the
latter. He shot .502 from the floor and a career-best .817 from the free
throw line.
In earning his fourth All-NBA First Team selection,
Durant averaged 28.1 points while shooting .510 from the field, .416
from distance and .905 from the free throw line. With those percentages,
Durant became just the second player in NBA history (Larry Bird;
1986-87) to average 28-plus points while going .500/.400/.900 during the
year. Additionally, Durant's field goal and free throw percentages
represented career bests.
Paul, an All-NBA First Team selection
for the third time, had a league-best 4.26 assist-to-turnover ratio; he
had 13 games in which he dished at least 11 assists while committing no
more than one turnover. The 2013 All-Star Game MVP, Paul averaged 16.9
points, ranked second in assists with 9.7 apg and paced the league in
steals with 2.41 spg.
The All-NBA Second Team consists of guards
Tony Parker of the Spurs and Russell Westbrook of the Thunder, forwards
Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks and Blake Griffin of the
Clippers, and center Marc Gasol of the Memphis Grizzlies.
The
All-NBA Third Team includes the Houston Rockets' James Harden and the
Heat's Dwyane Wade at guard, the Indiana Pacers' Paul George and the
Golden State Warriors' David Lee at forward, and the Lakers' Dwight
Howard at center.
The All-NBA Teams were chosen by a panel of 119
sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada.
The media voted for All-NBA First, Second and Third Teams by position
with points awarded on a 5-3-1 basis.
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and here's the real All-Star team..
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