There were some obvious choices, such as Stephen Curry being a unanimous first-team selection, and LeBron James being named to the first team, but there were some other moves that left people scratching their heads. Below are five takeaways from the selections.
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1. DeAndre Jordan as All-NBA First Team
The inclusion of Jordan on the first team came as a shock to practically everyone. The Clippers’ big man wasn’t even an All-Star this season, but somehow, he made it on the first team. When you compare his stats to some of his peers, it becomes even more puzzling.
2. Anthony Davis missed out on a bunch of money
The Brow just missed out on being named to one of the three All-NBA teams, which means he missed out on a huge payday of about $23 million. The injury that cut his season short came at a strange time and disqualified him for the Derrick Rose Rule.
3. James Harden and Paul Millsap were snubbed
The Rockets guard averaged 29.0 points, 7.5 assists and 6.1 rebounds per game and missed out on every single All-NBA team. Sure, he could improve (a lot) defensively, but it’s hard to make an argument for him not being on one of these teams.
Millsap just missed out on being named to a team, being out-voted by six other forwards (James, Leonard, Durant, Draymond Green, Paul George, LaMarcus Aldridge). It’s a tough competition, but considering the year he had, it’s startling to not see his name on a team.
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4. Kawhi Leonard over Kevin Durant
Durant not being named as an All-NBA First Team player feels strange, and some disagree with the decision to put Leonard over him. The voters didn’t believe it was that close of a decision as Leonard earned 58 more first-team votes than Durant and 123 total votes.
Comparing their stats, Durant beat out Leonard in every major category.
Durant: 28.2 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 5.0 apg.
Leonard: 21.2 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 2.6 apg.
Leonard’s shutdown defense isn’t represented in those stats, but it is interesting to see considering the wide margin of votes.
5. Only one Eastern Conference player on All-NBA First and Second Team
LeBron James is the only player from the Eastern Conference to make an appearance on the first or second All-NBA teams. We all know conference imbalance is a thing, but seeing it so evident is something else.
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The entire voting results can be viewed below:
Pos. | Player (Team) | 1st team votes | 2nd team votes | 3rd team votes | Total
F | LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers) | 125 | 4 | – | 637
F | Kawhi Leonard (San Antonio Spurs) | 94 | 35 | – | 575
C | DeAndre Jordan (Los Angeles Clippers) | 39 | 36 | 14 | 317
G | Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors) | 129 | – | – | 645
G | Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City Thunder) | 120 | 9 | – | 627
2015-16 ALL-NBA SECOND TEAM
Pos. | Player (Team) | 1st team votes | 2nd team votes | 3rd team votes | Total
F | Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder) | 36 | 90 | 2 | 452
F | Draymond Green (Golden State Warriors) | 40 | 74 | 9 | 431
C | DeMarcus Cousins (Sacramento Kings) | 32 | 28 | 33 | 277
G | Chris Paul (Los Angeles Clippers) | 8 | 101 | 10 | 353
G | Damian Lillard (Portland Trail Blazers) | – | 48 | 73 | 217
2015-16 ALL-NBA THIRD TEAM
Pos. | Player (Team) | 1st team votes | 2nd team votes | 3rd team votes | Total
F | Paul George (Indiana Pacers) | – | 28 | 73 | 157
F | LaMarcus Aldridge (San Antonio Spurs) | 3 | 11 | 55 | 103
C | Andre Drummond (Detroit Pistons) | 13 | 26 | 30 | 173
G | Klay Thompson (Golden State Warriors) | – | 37 | 53 | 164
G | Kyle Lowry (Toronto Raptors) | – | 35 | 50 | 155
Other players receiving votes, with point totals (First Team votes in parentheses): James Harden, Houston, 106; Paul Millsap, Atlanta, 84; Anthony Davis, New Orleans, 76 (1); Al Horford, Atlanta, 76 (2); Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota, 44; DeMar DeRozan, Toronto, 26; Hassan Whiteside, Miami, 24 (1); Isaiah Thomas, Boston, 20; Pau Gasol, Chicago, 16 (2); Jimmy Butler, Chicago, 12; Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas, 8; John Wall, Washington, 7; Kemba Walker, Charlotte, 6; Tim Duncan, San Antonio, 3; Gordon Hayward, Utah, 3; Dwight Howard, Houston, 3; Carmelo Anthony, New York, 2; Marc Gasol, Memphis, 2; Andrew Bogut, Golden State, 1; Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers, 1; Brook Lopez, Brooklyn, 1; Tony Parker, San Antonio, 1.
