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With the playoffs winding down, and the finals approaching quickly; officials have revealed the All-NBA teams for the 2021-22 season. There are some names that made it but the shocker of it all is the players that made the first team All- NBA. Stars Luka “The Don” Doncic (Dallas Mavericks), Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns), Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics), “The Greek Freak” Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks), and the reigning, defending, back to back MVP Nikola “The Joker” Jokic (Denver Nuggets) made a little history in their own rights. Luka has a total of three first All-NBA honors before turning the age of 24.
Only three other players who have been in the same company as Luka are Tim Duncan, Kevin Durant, and Max Zaslofsky. Giannis is the only player in this year’s first All-NBA team that received the max of 100 votes. Even with being the Back to back MVP Jokic didn’t receive the majority of the votes. This is his fourth selection making the first team a total of three times in the years 2019, 2021, and 2022. He made the second team once in 2020. Everyone on the first team is 27 years old and younger, something that has not been achieved since the 1954-55 season it shows that the NBA is blossoming some greatness in the next generations that follow.
The All- NBA second team brings just as much star power as the first. Led by MVP runner-up Joel Embiid ( Philadelphia 76ers) the second team comes with stars of the past and the future. Ja Morant (Memphis Grizzlies), Kevin Durant (Brooklyn Nets), Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors), and Demar Derozan (Chicago Bulls) cement their legacies behind Embiid. Kevin Durant joined a specific group in history-making his 10th appearance.
Demar DeRozan settled in well with his new team during the season and was able to make the second team. This is his third time making it years 2017, 2018, and 2022. Ja Morant adds his first All-NBA honors to his impressive resume of Rookie of the year (2020), All-Rookie First Team (2020), Most Improved (2022), and an All-star appearance in 2022. Ja is the youngest on the second team signifying that he is not too far behind for many first-team All-NBA appearances.
The All-NBA third team creates its own legendary status within history. Led by Lebron “The King” James (Los Angeles Lakers) with his 18th appearance most in history and Chris “CP3” Paul (Phoenix Suns)with his 11th. To add some youth to the field we have Karl Anthony Towns “KAT” (Minnesota Timberwolves), Pascal Siakam “Spicy P” (Toronto Raptors), and Trae Young “Ice Trae” (Atlanta Hawks).
Towns recently won the NBA 3pt Contest, his second time making the third team, and his overall third all-star appearance. Siakam now has made the second and third team(2020)(2022), NBA champion (2019), and Most improved player in 2019. Making his first selection to the third team is the Atlanta star, Trae Young. He makes his first appearance at the age of 23, adding to his two all-star appearances in 2020 and 2022.
The selections for All-NBA teams this year had a little bit of everything. The legends of yesterday, stars of today, and new stars of tomorrow. The youth movement is happening in the NBA and it’s happening fast. Wilt, Magic, Jordan, Kobe, Lebron, and Stephen Curry are some notable names that helped the fans adapt to new eras in basketball and will step up and become the face of this new era.
Written by Semetrius Holmes
Edited by Sheena Robertson
Sources:
CBS: 2021-22 All-NBA Teams: Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo headline First Team, Joel Embiid makes Second Team
Top and Featured Image Courtesy of Taki Lau’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of Sophie & Cie’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons license