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Blazers’ Lillard name All-NBA first team

James on record 12th All-NBA 1st team; Harden also unanimous

By Columbian news services
Published: May 24, 2018, 3:20pm

Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard has been named to the All-NBA first team by a vote of the media, it was announced Thursday by the NBA.

LeBron James was unanimously selected to the All-NBA first team for a record 12th time, while Houston’s James Harden also appeared on all 100 first-team ballots.

Also on the first team are New Orleans’ Anthony Davis and Golden State’s Kevin Durant.

James passed Kobe Bryant and Karl Malone with the 12th first-team selection of his 15-year career. He also was a second-team selection twice.

Lillard becomes the third Trail Blazer to be named All-NBA first team, joining Clyde Drexler (1991-92) and Bill Walton (1977-78).

Lillard averaged 26.9 points, 4.5 rebounds, 6.6 assists, 1.05 steals and 36.6 minutes in 73 games for the Northwest Division-champion Trail Blazers in 2017-18. His scoring average tied for the fourth highest in team history and his 227 three-pointers were the second most in a Trail Blazers season.

He finished the year tied for fourth in the NBA in scoring, tied for 10th in assists, third in free throw percentage, third in free throws made, tied for sixth in three-pointers made and fifth in minutes per game. He received Western Conference Player of the Week honors three times and was selected as an NBA All-Star for the third time in his career.

Lillard is the third player in NBA history to record 1,500 points and 400 assists in each of his first six seasons, joining LeBron James and Oscar Robertson, and is one of eight players in league history with 10,000 points and 2,500 assists in their first six seasons.

This marks the third All-NBA honor for Lillard, who was named All-NBA Third Team in 2013-14 and second team in 2015-16.

The second team was forwards Giannis Antetokounmpo of Milwaukee and Aldridge of San Antonio, Philadelphia center Joel Embiid, and guards Russell Westbrook of Oklahoma City and DeMar DeRozan of Toronto.

Injury absences sent Golden State’s Stephen Curry tumbling to the third team, where he was joined in the backcourt by Indiana’s Victor Oladipo. Minnesota teammates Karl-Anthony Towns and Jimmy Butler, and Oklahoma City’s Paul George rounded out the third team.

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