Los Angeles, United States—Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo and four-time league MVP LeBron James were both unanimously chosen to the All-NBA First Team, the league announced Wednesday (Thursday Philippine time).
Los Angeles Lakers forward James set the league record with his 16th All-NBA Team selection, surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan, who all have 15.
James has 13 selections to the First Team, two to the Second Team and one to the Third Team.
Reigning league MVP Antetokounmpo now has a total of four All-NBA selections, including two to the First Team.
He and James both received All-NBA First Team votes on all 100 ballots to finish with 500 points each. The voting is conducted by a group of sports journalists from the US and Canada.
Joining James and Antetokounmpo on the All-NBA First Team were Houston Rockets guard James Harden (474 points), Lakers forward Anthony Davis (455) and Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (416).
Earlier James had 29 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists as the Los Angeles Lakers advanced to their first NBA Western Conference final in a decade with a 119-96 blowout win over the Houston Rockets.
Anthony Davis tallied 13 points and 11 rebounds, Kyle Kuzma had 17 and Markieff Morris finished with 16 for the Lakers, who eliminated the Rockets in five games in the quarantine bubble in Orlando, Florida.
Los Angeles advanced to their first NBA final four since the Kobe Bryant-led Lakers beat Phoenix for the conference title and then defeated Boston for the 2010 NBA championship, the last time they won.
“It’s the reason I wanted to be a part of this franchise is to take them back to a place they were accustomed to being. And that’s competing for a championship,” said James.
“It’s an honor for me to wear the purple and gold and for us to just try to continue the legacy and just play great basketball for our fans.”
This will be James’s 11th career conference finals but when asked by reporters how it feels, he changed the subject to talk about the group as a whole.
“Every game is a learning experience for us. Every game is another opportunity for us to get better. We want to continue to build,” said James.
