Los Angeles, May 15 (Inditop) A week after winning his first NBA Most Valuable Player trophy, basketball player LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers took home another piece of prized hardware to round out a memorable regular season.
“King James” was a voted a unanimous selection to the All-NBA First Team, the league announced.
The 24-year-old Cavaliers superstar was joined by Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers, NBA Defensive Player of the Year Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic, German Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks and league scoring champ Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat.
James earned All-NBA First Team honours for the second straight season. He was second in the league in scoring at 28.4 points per game, averaged 7.6 rebounds and 7.2 assists, while carrying the Cavaliers to a league-best 66-16 record.
Bryant was named to the All-NBA First Team for the fourth straight year and seventh overall. Last season’s league MVP averaged 26.8 points per game, 5.2 rebounds and 4.9 assists, while taking the Lakers to a Western Conference-best 65-17 record.
Howard made the First Team for the second consecutive season. The Magic centre averaged a team-best 20.6 points on 57 per cent field goal shooting. He became just the fourth player in NBA history to lead the league in rebounding (13.8) and blocks (2.9) since 1973-74, the first season when blocks were kept as an official statistic.
Earning his fourth First Team selection, Nowitzki was the league’s fourth-leading scorer, averaging 25.9 points while taking down 8.4 rebounds.
Wade made the First Team for the first time in his career. The league scoring champion at 30.2 points per game led the Heat to 43 wins – 28 more than the previous season – and a playoff appearance.
The flashy guard also became just the fifth player in league history to reach 2,000 points, 500 assists and 150 steals in a single season.
The All-NBA Second Team consists of New Orleans’ Chris Paul and Portland’s Brandon Roy at guard, San Antonio’s Tim Duncan and Boston’s Paul Pierce at forward, and China’s Yao Ming of Houston at centre.
The All-NBA Third Team includes Denver’s Chauncey Billups and San Antonio’s Tony Parker at guard, Denver’s Carmelo Anthony and Spain’s Paul Gasol of the Lakers at forward, and Phoenix’s Shaquille O’Neal at centre.
The All-NBA Teams were chosen by a panel of 122 sportswriters and broadcasters, who voted by position.