Saturday, May 23, 2015

2014-15 NBA All-Star Team

— The Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry and the Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James headline the 2014-15 All-NBA First Team, the NBA announced today. Curry, the 2014-15 Kia NBA MVP, and James received First Team votes on all 129 ballots. This marks the first All-NBA First Team selection for Curry and the ninth in 12 seasons for James, who tied Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Oscar Robertson for the third most all time.

Joining Curry and James on the First Team are James Harden of the Houston Rockets, Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Pelicans and Marc Gasol of the Memphis Grizzlies. Harden, who garnered 125 First Team votes, makes his second straight appearance on the First Team. Davis (119 First Team votes) and Gasol (68 First Team votes) earned First Team honors for the first time.

The All-NBA Second Team consists of Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers, LaMarcus Aldridge of the Portland Trail Blazers, Pau Gasol of the Chicago Bulls and DeMarcus Cousins of the Sacramento Kings.

The All-NBA Third Team is composed of the Warriors' Klay Thompson, the Cavaliers' Kyrie Irving, the Clippers' Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, and the San Antonio Spurs' Tim Duncan.

The All-NBA Teams were chosen by a panel of 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. Voters were asked to select two guards, two forwards and one center for each team, choosing players at the position they play regularly.

Curry helped the Warriors win a franchise-record 67 games by averaging 23.8 points (sixth in the NBA), 7.7 assists (sixth), a career-high 2.04 steals (fourth) and 4.3 rebounds. He made 286 three-pointers, breaking his own NBA record of 272 set in 2012-13. Curry, the leading vote-getter in NBA All-Star Balloting 2015 presented by Sprint, shot 48.7 percent from the field, ranked fourth in the league in three-point field goal percentage (44.3) and led the NBA in free throw percentage (91.4).

James ranked third in the NBA in scoring (25.3 ppg) and seventh in assists (7.4 apg) as Cleveland finished with the second-best record (53-29) in the Eastern Conference. The Cavaliers were 50-19 in the 69 games James played and 3-10 in the 13 games he did not. The 11-time All-Star was one of only three players to tally 1,700 points, 500 assists, 400 rebounds and 100 steals, joining Harden and Westbrook.

Harden finished second in the NBA in scoring (27.4 ppg) and ninth in assists (7.0 apg) while leading the Rockets to 56 wins and the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. He led the NBA in 40-point games (10) and 30-point games (35), and his four triple-doubles were the most by a Rocket since Hakeem Olajuwon posted four in 1989-90. Harden, who was named an All-Star for the third season in a row, also led the NBA in free throws made (715) and attempted (824), good for 86.8 percent.

Davis, according to NBA.com/Stats, led the NBA in Player Impact Estimate (PIE), which measures a player's overall statistical contribution against the total statistics in games he plays. He ranked first in the league in blocks (2.94 bpg), fourth in scoring (24.4 ppg), seventh in field goal percentage (53.5) and eighth in rebounding (10.2 rpg). Davis helped the Pelicans make the playoffs for the first time since 2011.

Gasol averaged a career-best 17.4 points to go with 7.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists for the 55-win Grizzlies. He scored 30-plus points five times after doing so just once in his first six seasons. He set career highs in field goals made and attempted, as well as free throws made and attempted. Gasol was named an All-Star for the second time, earning his first All-Star start.

Other players receiving votes, with point totals (First Team votes in parentheses): Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio, 155; Paul Millsap, Atlanta, 70; Al Horford, Atlanta, 64 (1); John Wall, Washington, 50; Jimmy Butler, Chicago, 32; Damian Lillard, Portland, 22; Draymond Green, Golden State, 9; Zach Randolph, Memphis, 7; Jeff Teague, Atlanta, 7; Andrew Bogut, Golden State, 6; Nikola Vucevic, Orlando, 6; DeMar DeRozan, Toronto, 3; Rudy Gay, Sacramento, 3; Andre Drummond, Detroit, 2; Gordon Hayward, Utah, 2; Kyle Korver, Atlanta, 2; Joakim Noah, Chicago, 2; Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas, 2; Dwyane Wade, Miami, 2; Carmelo Anthony, New York, 1; Tyson Chandler, Dallas, 1; Mike Conley, Memphis, 1; Brook Lopez, Brooklyn, 1; Kevin Love, Cleveland, 1; Kyle Lowry, Toronto, 1; Khris Middleton, Milwaukee, 1.

*** 5/20/15

San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard, the Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year, headlines the 2014-15 NBA All-Defensive First Team, the NBA announced today. He is one of three players to make his first All-Defensive First Team.

Leonard received 116 First Team votes and 242 points from a panel of 129 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. The NBA All-Defensive First Team also includes forward Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors (229 points, 107 First Team votes), guard Tony Allen of the Memphis Grizzlies (207 points, 88 First Team votes), center DeAndre Jordan of the Los Angeles Clippers (187 points, 84 First Team votes) and guard Chris Paul of the Clippers (170 points, 67 First Team votes).

Green and Jordan, who finished second and third, respectively, in the voting for the 2014-15 Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award, join Leonard as first-time selections on the All-NBA Defensive First Team. Paul made the First Team for the fourth straight season and fifth time overall, while Allen earned his third First Team nod. 

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