Dunking With Wolves Staff Picks: NBA Awards Roundtable

All-NBA First Team

DJ:

G – Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks
G – James Harden, Houston Rockets
F – LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers
F – Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
B – Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers

Giannis Antetokounmpo, as stated, was simply incredible this past season. James Harden has also become a staple of this list, year after year. LeBron and Davis are both incredible players and very well could win the NBA finals this coming year. Doncic is amazing and should get more credit than he does. He averaged 29/9/9 on splits of 46/32/75. He very well could be the best player in the NBA in just a few seasons.

PF:

G – Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks
G – James Harden, Houston Rockets
F – Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
F – LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers
C – Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers

I know Anthony Davis is technically a power forward, but he’s played enough center this season to be slotted into the center position on the first team. Giannis and LeBron are locks, with Doncic making his debut on the first team, and Harden and his league leading scoring rounds out the guard selections.

PL:

G- Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers
G- James Harden, Houston Rockets
F- Lebron James, Los Angeles Lakers
F- Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Buck
F- Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers

The two obvious shoe-ins for this list–Giannis and Lebron– are also the two frontrunners for MVP and they have once again shown to be dominant players in this league.  Anthony Davis has also been a key number two for the Lakers and proved that he can be a top player in the league. Damian Lillard has been arguably the best point guard in the league and once again James Harden has been one of the best scorers in the league.

TW:

G – LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers
G – James Harden, Houston Rockets
F – Kawhi Leonard, Los Angeles Clippers
F – Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
C – Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets

I can’t put Anthony Davis as a center, and I also can’t put Joel Embiid on the first team considering how bad the Sixers have struggled. Jokic’s offensive impact is obvious, but he’s also done pretty well by defensive metrics this year. The Nuggets continue to play better than their talent-level would suggest and Jokic seems to be a big part of that.

NA:

G – Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks
G – James Harden, Houston Rockets
G – Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks
F – LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers
F – Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

Young ranked 2nd in the league in assists and 4th in scoring, which both rank higher than Damian Lillard. Harden is the league’s leading scorer by nearly 4 PPG. Doncic ranked 6th in the league in scoring and remarkably 4th assists, which is remarkable considering how banged up the Mavericks were this season. Giannis and LeBron are the best players on the best teams in the East and West.

ZL:

G – Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks
G – James Harden, Houston Rockets
F – LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers
F – Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
C – Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets

No huge surprises on my All-NBA First Team as this represents the cream of the crop in the league. Doncic and Harden are two of the NBA’s most dominant offensive scorers. In Denver, Jokic has established himself as one of the most unique players we’ve ever seen as he leads a contending team in the West. Giannis and LeBron round out the First Team selections as the true MVP candidates leading Milwaukee and LA to the top of their respective conferences.

AJ:

G – James Harden, Houston Rockets
G – Bradley Beal, Washington Wizards
F – LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers
F – Giannis Antetokounmpo
C – Anthony Davis

I mean, are there any shocks here? The only one that you could even say is a shock is Bradley Beal, but I’d like anybody to tell me why he doesn’t deserve to be on here. He is averaging the 2nd most points per game, had multiple 50 + point games, and single-handedly kept his Wizards team in the playoff hunt. What more do you need to do?

Final Tally:

Giannis Antetokounmpo (unanimous), LeBron James (unanimous), James Harden (unanimous), Luka Doncic (4), Anthony Davis (3), Nikola Jokic (2), Trae Young (1), Kawhi Leonard (1), Damian Lillard (1), Bradley Beal (1)