2021-22 NBA Awards Media Poll: All-NBA Teams
Over the last few weeks, the NBA awards and honors have been a hot topic of discussion around the NBA world.
The three finalists for each award were announced on Sunday, but SI Fastbreak has collected data from NBA media members around the country covering both the league at-large and individual teams.
These media members were asked to vote on their selections for each All-NBA team this season with the voting process working as follows:
- 5 points for every First Team vote
- 3 points for every Second Team vote
- 1 points for every Third Team vote
Here is SI Fastbreak’s official voting results for the 2021-22 All-NBA Teams:
All-NBA First Team:
Official results from SI Fastbreak NBA Media Awards Polling 2021-22 - All-NBA First Team
G - Luka Doncic (DAL), G - Devin Booker (PHX), F Giannis Antetokounmpo (MIL), Jayson Tatum (BOS), C Nikola Jokic
In the backcourt for All-NBA First Team, there really are no surprises. Luka Doncic and Devin Booker were two of the best offensive players in the entire league this season and each had remarkable years for their respective team.
Luka Doncic finished tied for fourth in the league in triple-doubles this season, tied for seventh in double-doubles, third in scoring and Doncic recorded the highest usage percentage in the entire NBA.
Devin Booker was the catalyst offensively for the 64-win Phoenix Suns, averaging a career-best 26.8 points per game, which ranked eighth in the NBA. His 28 games with at least 30 points ranked tied for sixth in the league and Booker also had four 40-point games.
In the frontcourt, Giannis Antetokounmpo was the only unanimous selection for All-NBA First Team and rightfully so, as the MVP candidate averaged a career-high 29.9 points and 11.6 rebounds during the regular season.
Jayson Tatum led the charge for the Boston Celtics this season, helping them turn things around in the middle of the year. He finished the year ranking seventh in points per game and fourth in overall points scored this year.
The league’s reigning MVP in Nikola Jokic put together an even better season this year than he did last year, resulting in him being voted by our selected media members to All-NBA First Team.
Jokic beat out Embiid 16-8 in First Team votes and beat him 92-67 in total points accumulated in the voting process. This season, Nikola Jokic led the league in triple-doubles, double-doubles, player efficiency rating, win shares and much more.
All-NBA Second Team:
Official results from SI Fastbreak NBA Media Awards Polling 2021-22 - All-NBA Second Team
G - Ja Morant (MEM), G - Stephen Curry (GSW), F - Kevin Durant (BKN), F - DeMar DeRozan (CHI), C - Joel Embiid (PHI)
Ja Morant, Kevin Durant, DeMar DeRozan and Joel Embiid all received some consideration for All-NBA First Team, but there was a wide gap in the voting between them and those selected ahead of them.
Both Ja Morant and Stephen Curry were two offensive spectacles this season and helped lead their teams to the 2-seed and 3-seed, respectively, in the Western Conference.
Making insane, athletic plays each and every game, Morant has turned himself into a superstar at the point guard position in just his third season in the league.
In the frontcourt, Kevin Durant would have been in the running for MVP this season if he did not suffer his sprained MCL in January. The near 7-footer missed close to two months of action, which likely resulted in him being voted to Second Team here.
As for DeMar DeRozan, he had his best season of his career with the Chicago Bulls this year, averaging a career-high 27.9 points and finishing fourth in the league in scoring.
Finishing behind Nikola Jokic in the voting, Joel Embiid did not crack the Top-5 in voting points for the All-NBA voting and finds himself on the All-NBA Second Team. This season, Embiid became the first center since Shaquille O’Neal (1999-00) to lead the league in scoring.
All-NBA Third Team:
Official results from SI Fastbreak NBA Media Awards Polling 2021-22 - All-NBA Third Team
G - Trae Young (ATL), G - Chris Paul (PHX), F - LeBron James (LAL), F Pascal Siakam (TOR), C Karl-Anthony Towns (MIN)
Making one of the All-NBA lists for the first-time in his career seems very likely for Trae Young this season, as the Atlanta Hawks guard made his second All-Star Game of his career and became the first player in 49 years to lead the league in both total points and total assists.
Chris Paul did not lead the league in total assists this year, but he led the league in assists per game and has continued to be the leader of the best team in the NBA. Both Young and Paul were on almost every ballot for All-NBA in the polling seen above.
LeBron James missed a large chunk of time this season and the Los Angeles Lakers missed the playoffs, but James was still one of the best players in the league this year. If he had stayed healthy, who knows what would have happened with the Lakers and in 56 games this year, he averaged 30.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists.
Pascal Siakam is a toss-up for All-NBA this year, but the Toronto Raptors forward turned things on at the end of the season and the media voters above seemed to notice.
Siakam received just 11 third-place votes, but he did finish in front of Jimmy Butler and Jaylen Brown for the last “forward” spot by a wide margin.
Official results from SI Fastbreak NBA Media Awards Polling 2021-22 - All-NBA Remaining Players
Of the remaining players that received votes for All-NBA in the voting process, Rudy Gobert, Darius Garland and Dejounte Murray are all finalists for separate end-of-season awards this year.
Jimmy Butler, Jaylen Brown, Rudy Gobert and Darius Garland all received more than one vote for All-NBA honors.
