Kobe, Lebron earn 2013 NBA First Team honors

May 23, 2013

The NBA announced its First Team selections today, and no surprise, the Miami Heat’s LeBron James led the way as the only player to receive all 119 First Team votes.

Joining James on the First Team were Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs, Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers, and Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers.

For Bryant, his 11th First Team nod ties him with Hall of Famer Karl Malone for the most such selections. Bryant had been tied at 10 with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Elgin Baylor, Bob Cousy, Michael Jordan, Bob Pettit, and Jerry West.

Bryant, an All-NBA First Team selection for the eighth straight season, averaged 27.3 points. He moved past Wilt Chamberlain this year for fourth on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. Additionally, Bryant eclipsed the 2,000-point mark in a single season for the eighth time, becoming just the fourth player in NBA history to score 2,000 points in a season at age 34 or older, joining Alex English, Jordan and Malone, each of whom did so twice.

Meanwhile, James was the only player in the NBA to lead his team in scoring (26.8 ppg), rebounding (8.0 rpg), and assists (7.3 apg). He shot a career high from the field (.565) and from three-point range (.406).

Additionally, James became the youngest player in NBA history to reach the 20,000-point plateau -- a somewhat meaningless statistic considering that such greats as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Chamberlain certainly would have reached that figure quicker had they joined the NBA immediately after high school.

Duncan earned his 10th First Team selection and first since 2006-07. In his 16th NBA campaign, Duncan had a bounce-back year, averaging 17.8 points, 9.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.65 blocks. He shot .502 from the floor and a career-best .817 from the free throw line.

In earning his fourth All-NBA First Team selection, Durant averaged 28.1 points while shooting .510 from the field, .416 from distance, and .905 from the free throw line. With those percentages, Durant became just the second player in NBA history besides Larry Bird in 1986-87 to average 28-plus points while going .500/.400/.900 during the year.

Paul, an All-NBA First Team selection for the third time, had a league-best 4.26 assist-to-turnover ratio. The 2013 All-Star Game MVP, Paul averaged 16.9 points, ranked second in assists with 9.7 apg, and paced the league in steals with 2.41 spg.

Named to the All-NBA Second Team were guards Tony Parker of the Spurs and Russell Westbrook of the Thunder, forwards Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks and Blake Griffin of the Clippers, and center Marc Gasol of the Memphis Grizzlies.

The All-NBA Third Team consisted of the Houston Rockets’ James Harden and the Heat’s Dwyane Wade at guard, the Indiana Pacers’ Paul George and the Golden State Warriors’ David Lee at forward, and the Lakers’ Dwight Howard at center.

The All-NBA Teams were chosen by a panel of 119 sportswriters and broadcasters. Below are the voting results:

2012-13 ALL-NBA FIRST TEAM

Forward LeBron James, Miami (119) 595
Forward Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City (102) 555
Center Tim Duncan, San Antonio (45) 392
Guard Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers (91) 521
Guard Chris Paul, L.A. Clippers (97) 537

2012-13 ALL-NBA SECOND TEAM

Forward Carmelo Anthony, New York (24) 397
Forward Blake Griffin, L.A. Clippers 132
Center Marc Gasol, Memphis (38) 295
Guard Tony Parker, San Antonio (16) 273
Guard Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City (20) 306

2012-13 ALL-NBA THIRD TEAM

Forward David Lee, Golden State 79
Forward Paul George, Indiana 73
Center Dwight Howard, L.A. Lakers (17) 203
Guard Dwyane Wade, Miami (3) 145
Guard James Harden, Houston (5) 253      

Other players receiving votes

Brook Lopez, Brooklyn, 132 (7 First Team votes)
Stephen Curry, Golden State, 72
LaMarcus Aldridge, Portland, 62
Chris Bosh, Miami, 59 (4)
Joakim Noah, Chicago, 56 (3)
Zach Randolph, Memphis, 45
Al Horford, Atlanta, 31 (2)
Paul Pierce, Boston, 24
Al Jefferson, Utah, 20 (1)
Tyson Chandler, New York, 19 (1)
Roy Hibbert, Indiana, 9
Luol Deng, Chicago, 8
Kevin Garnett, Boston, 8
Ty Lawson, Denver, 8
Josh Smith, Atlanta, 7
Deron Williams, Brooklyn, 6
Pau Gasol, LA Lakers, 4
Serge Ibaka, Oklahoma City, 4
Omer Asik, Houston, 3
Kenneth Faried, Denver, 3
Raymond Felton, New York, 3
Kyrie Irving, Cleveland, 3
Carlos Boozer, Chicago, 2
Mike Conley, Memphis, 2
David West, Indiana, 2
Rudy Gay, Toronto, 1
J.J. Hickson, Portland, 1
Andre Iguodala, Denver, 1
Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas, 1
Nikola Pekovic, Minnesota, 1
Rajon Rondo, Boston, 1
Nikola Vucevic, Orlando, 1

By Staff of TheDailySportsHerald.com and news services

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