Though none of us have a ballot for the NBA’s official awards, we’ll be presenting our choices and making our cases this week for each major honor.
Kurt Helin
First team
- G: Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
- G: James Harden, Houston Rockets
- F: Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
- F: LeBron James, Miami Heat
- C: Joakim Noah, Chicago Bulls
Second team
- G: Goran Dragic, Phoenix Suns
- G: Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers
- F: Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers
- F: Kevin Love, Minnesota Timberwolves
- C: Dwight Howard, Houston Rockets
Third team
- G: Paul George, Indiana Pacers
- G: Kyle Lowry, Toronto Raptors
- F: Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs
- F: Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks
- C: Al Jefferson, Charlotte Bobcats
Forward was just brutal — Carmelo Anthony and LaMarcus Aldridge are not on here for me and if I could find a way they would be. I moved Paul George up to guard just to get him out of the forward slot and get him recognition he deserves. Glad to finally get Al Jefferson some deserved pub.
Brett Pollakoff
First team
- G: Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers
- G: James Harden, Houston Rockets
- F: Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
- F: LeBron James, Miami Heat
- C: Joakim Noah, Chicago Bulls
Second team
- G: Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
- G: John Wall, Washington Wizards
- F: Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers
- F: Kevin Love, Minnesota Timberwolves
- C: Dwight Howard, Houston Rockets
Third team
- G: Goran Dragic, Phoenix Suns
- G: Kyle Lowry, Toronto Raptors
- F: Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks
- F: Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks
- C: Al Jefferson, Charlotte Bobcats
The biggest surprise when choosing these teams was how easy it was to leave off players from the two teams that finished with the best records in their respective conferences — the Spurs and the Pacers. Curry and Harden were interchangeable in the final guard spot on the first team for me, and third team features three guys who all had fantastic seasons and were instrumental in their teams’ success in Jefferson, Lowry and Dragic.
Dan Feldman
First team
- G: Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
- G: Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers
- F: Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
- F: LeBron James, Miami Heat
- C: Joakim Noah, Chicago Bulls
Second team
- G: Goran Dragic, Phoenix Suns
- G: James Harden, Houston Rockets
- F: Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers
- F: Kevin Love, Minnesota Timberwolves
- C: Dwight Howard, Houston Rockets
Third team
- G: Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers
- G: Kyle Lowry, Toronto Raptors
- F: Paul George, Indiana Pacers
- F: Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks
- C: Al Jefferson, Charlotte Bobcats
Slotting all three centers was difficult, and I left out DeMarcus Cousins, who is close but might not get All-NBA credit from anyone. The forwards cleanly broke into two-man tiers. Anthony Davis just missed too many games in a crowded field for third team, and Carmelo Anthony was also a tough cut there. With all due respect to Tim Duncan and LaMarcus Aldridge, they didn’t play enough to claim a spot at this position. At guard, Harden stands in a class alone, below Curry and Paul, but above Dragic and Lowry. Separating Dragic and Lowry was difficult, but Dragic gets the edge for producing in the more-competitive West. Lillard narrowly beat John Wall and Mike Conley for third-team guard. None of those three seem All-NBA caliber, but one of them had to be with Dwyane Wade, Russell Westbrook and Derrick Rose missing too many games due to injury.