Russell Westbrook‘s full-season triple-double was the most impressive statistical achievement of the 2016/17 regular season, but the NBA’s stars put up astounding numbers across the board this year, making All-NBA decisions tougher than ever. No matter which 15 players earn spots on the three All-NBA teams for 2017, worthy candidates will miss the cut.
Still, we want you to do your best to identify which 15 players are the most deserving of All-NBA recognition this year. Over the next few days, we’ll be running a handful of polls to let you make your selections for this year’s All-NBA teams.
We’re starting today with the First Team. Polls for the guards, forwards, and center are below — you’ll have the opportunity to pick two players apiece in the guard and forward polls. We’ll leave today’s polls open for about 24 hours, at which point we’ll name the players with the most votes to our All-NBA First Team and move on to voting for the Second Team.
Vote for your All-NBA picks below, and then take to the comments section to explain your reasoning. And if there are a player not listed below that you believe deserves All-NBA consideration, be sure to mention him in the comments section too — if I agree, I’ll make sure he’s included in our Second and Third Team polls.
Guards:
Note: This poll was reset after a top candidate was initially omitted. If you voted early in our original poll, feel free to vote again.
Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote on the All-NBA First team guards.
Forwards:
Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote on the All-NBA First team forwards.
Centers:
Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote on the All-NBA First team center.
How did Westbrook only have 48%?!?
That being said, it seems we have clear cut choices for G/F…and Center is pretty much certain as well, at least so far.
The percentages might look a little off because they’ll add up to 100% despite there being two choices. So 50% is the most anyone could get — even so, 48% is probably STILL too low for Westbrook.
I anticipated the G/F decisions would be pretty straightforward here, but thought the C vote might be tight, which hasn’t been the case so far. The Second and Third Team votes should be a little more interesting.
Did I miss something? Where is Steph Curry on the guards list?
Damn, I had him on there, but must have somehow overwritten his name with McCollum’s when I was entering the rest of the list (McCollum is listed out of place alphabetically, where Curry would have been). I think it’s probably safe to assume he wouldn’t have beaten Harden and Westbrook in this poll, but I’ll make sure he’s in there for the Second Team vote tomorrow.
Not including Steph Curry is cooking the books.
You know what, you’re right. I don’t want any foul-play accusations, so I’ve reset the votes and opened a new poll with Curry included. Apologies to everyone who already voted for the guards.
I didn’t mention this because I necessarily believe that he’s a first team; I’m still pondering. Curry happens to be on a dream team right now and so he doesn’t play “hero ball” and get all the flashy stats a la Harden and Westbrook. He is near the top (or top) in some statistics and advanced metrics. The way I’m thinking about it is: if I was a GM and truly had my pick of all the guards, who would I want on my team? How many GMs honestly would not choose Curry?
Thank you for rectifying it though, because it could possibly skew the vote (since this is ultimately a fan vote – hopefully a more informed fan vote – but still just a popularity contest).
Yeah I think the differences in voting usually stem from your mindset of if I could have any 2 in a vacuum who would they be, compared to who has done most for their team or put up the best stats.
Age is the biggest difference between those two lines of thinking.
It’s the same thing as when people ask who is the MVP, and then who would you choose to start a franchise with.
Even so, the only position that might influence the voting could be Center like KAT over AD, or maybe the forward spot with Giannis over someone lime say LeBron, due solely to age and mileage..
Still though, I’d find it safe to say most would still choose Davis and Lebron…BUT next year KAT and Giannis very well could close that gap pretty quickly. They are two of the fastest rising all-stars in the NBA, and if their health permits, they will very soon become some of the co-faces of the NBA.