James, Bryant, Durant, Howard, Paul make First-Team All-NBA

NEW YORK — MVP LeBron James received 118 of a possible 120 first team votes and was selected to the All-NBA First Team today along with Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers, Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic and Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers.

The All-NBA Second Team consists of guards Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs and Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder, forwards Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers and Kevin Love of the Minnesota Timberwolves, and center Andrew Bynum of the Los Angeles Lakers.

The All-NBA Third Team includes the Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade and the Boston Celtics’ Rajon Rondo at guard, the New York Knicks’ Carmelo Anthony and the Dallas Mavericks’ Dirk Nowitzki at forward, and the Knicks’ Tyson Chandler at center.

Despite averaging a career-low 37.5 minutes, James, an eight-time All-Star, led the NBA in plus-minus score differential (+7.6) and ranked third in scoring (27.1 ppg), while pacing the Heat in assists (6.2 apg) and tying for the team lead in rebounds (7.9 rpg). In addition, James established career bests in field goal percentage (.531) and three-point field goal percentage (.362). James earns First Team honors for the fifth straight season and sixth time overall.

Durant earns his third All-NBA First Team selection. He led the league in scoring (28.0 ppg) for the third consecutive year, edging Bryant in the second-closest finish all-time, to go along with career highs in rebounds (8.0 rpg) and assists (3.5 apg). Durant scored at least 40 points four times, including a career-high 51 on Feb. 19 vs. Denver. He earned All-Star MVP honors after scoring 36 points in the Western Conference’s 152-149 win over the East.

Bryant, an All-NBA First Team selection for the seventh straight season, becomes the active leader for most First-Team nods with 10. Bryant finished second in the league in scoring (27.9 ppg). On Feb. 6, at Philadelphia, Bryant moved past Shaquille O’Neal for fifth on the NBA’s all-time scoring list; and on March 9, at Minnesota, he became the youngest player to 29,000 points (33 years, 199 days). Bryant’s 10 First-Team selections tie for second all-time (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Elgin Baylor, Bob Cousy, Michael Jordan, Bob Pettit, and Jerry West). Karl Malone is the all-time leader with 11.

Howard, an All-NBA First Team selection for the fifth consecutive season, led the league in rebounding with a career-high 14.5 rpg and field goal percentage (.573), and finished second in double-doubles (43) and third in blocks (2.15 bpg). Howard also averaged 20.6 points and was one of only three players to average at least 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Paul, an All-NBA First Team selection for the second time in his career, paced the league in steals (2.53 spg) and finished third in assists (9.1 apg), adding 19.8 ppg and 3.5 rpg. He posted 23 double-doubles, tying for 16^th overall. Paul this season became only the second player (Tim Hardaway, 1990-91) in NBA history to average at least 19.0 points, 9.0 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals.

The All-NBA Teams were chosen by a panel of 120 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. The media voted for All-NBA First, Second and Third Teams by position with points awarded on a 5-3-1 basis.

Below are the results of the voting for the 2011-12 All-NBA Teams, with First Team votes in parentheses. The balloting was tabulated by the independent accounting firm of Ernst & Young LLP.

Position        Player, Team (1^st Team Votes)        Points
Forward        LeBron James, Miami (118)                  596
Forward        Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City (117)        591
Center          Dwight Howard, Orlando (75)                476
Guard          Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers (104)              568
Guard          Chris Paul, L.A. Clippers (74)                484

Position        Player, Team (1^st Team Votes)        Points
Forward        Kevin Love, Minnesota (16)                  365
Forward        Blake Griffin, L.A. Clippers                  170
Center          Andrew Bynum, L.A. Lakers (33)           400
Guard           Tony Parker, San Antonio (41)              367
Guard           Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City (5)   239

Position        Player, Team (1^st Team Votes)        Points
Forward        Carmelo Anthony, New York (1)            154
Forward        Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas                          136
Center          Tyson Chandler, New York (4)                60
Guard           Dwyane Wade, Miami (1)                     235 
Guard           Rajon Rondo, Boston (4)                      142