2021 All-NBA Picks: Who deserves the honors?
The eventful 2020-2021 season has ended and it’s time to create our award ballots. With so much talent and impressive resumes, it’s hard to simply choose 15 players without multiple players being snubbed. However, like Avon Barksdale once notoriously said, “the game is the game”. Be sure to tell me on Twitter (@xhunter24_) who you think should earn All-NBA honors and send me your ballots.
Honorable Mentions: LeBron James, Chris Paul, Donovan Mitchell, Devin Booker, Paul George, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Domantas Sabonis, Clint Capela,
ALL-NBA FIRST TEAM
Steph Curry
Damian Lillard
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Joel Embiid
Nikola Jokic
All positions aside, these are the five best players this season and my finalists for MVP. I was torn between Damian Lillard and Luka Doncic in the second guard position. While it’s hard to ignore Luka’s 27.7 points, 8 rebounds, and 8.6 assists per game, Lillard is the most clutch player in the league. Over half of Portland’s wins (24) were decided in the clutch.
Dame carried the injury-filled Trail Blazers team to the playoffs and deserves First Team honors. There was no way I could move Embiid or Jokic to the Second Team.
Both of these guys have been phenomenal and it would be a discredit to both players to move one down just to fill the center position. Imagine potentially having the league MVP Second Team All-NBA. The NBA made the right call allowing Embiid and Jokic to be considered as C/F. I’ll explain later how this helps everyone.
ALL-NBA SECOND TEAM
Kyrie Irving
Luka Doncic
Kawhi Leonard
Jimmy Butler
Rudy Gobert
Despite missing 18 games, Kyrie Irving is still one of the top guards in the league. He joins the 50-40-90 club with fellow teammate Kevin Durant and the Nets are strong contenders for a championship. Yes, their roster is stacked, but Kyrie emerged as the top guy in their trio. Doncic, Leonard, Butler, and Gobert are automatic locks for Second Team and each easily has a case to be First Team.
ALL-NBA THIRD TEAM
Trae Young
Bradley Beal
Jayson Tatum
Julius Randle
Bam Adebayo
It’s time for Bradley Beal to reap the rewards of his work. If we’re going to celebrate Steph’s amazing season, we have to keep the same energy for Beal. He’s scoring and shooting at a career high (31.3 ppg, 48.5%). Both Curry and Beal are the league’s top scorers and their teams hold 8th seed in their respective conferences. It would be very disappointing to have Beal miss out on All-NBA honors in consecutive seasons.
The final guard spot was tough to fill. While many would use that spot for Chris Paul, Trae Young is the better option to me. Young’s 25.3 points and 9.4 assists per game led the Hawks to the 5th best record in the East. I understand Paul’s impact on the Suns, but with guards such as James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Russell Westbrook, and Devin Booker in the field, CP3’s numbers do not match up to the rest.
Jayson Tatum’s rise to stardom is a beautiful thing to witness. Despite Boston’s underwhelming season, Tatum was the opposite with career highs in points, rebounds and assists (26.4, 7.4, 4.3). He’s proven to be amongst the best wings in the league.
Julius Randle is a frontrunner for the Most Improved Player award and rightfully so. The All-Star improved his basic statline at 24 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists per game while leading the Knicks to the playoffs for the first time since 2013. Since I added Embiid and Jokic together on the First Team, it leaves the third center position open for Bam Adebayo.
He’s a candidate for Defensive Player of the Year and vastly improved all around. Anthony Davis missed too many games, and the Timberwolves are way below in the standings to consider Karl-Anthony Towns. If Tatum and/or Adebayo earn All-NBA honors, their contracts can increase to over $190 million which is an incentive to their extension deals.