The Warriors hold a 2-0 series lead against the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals, only six wins away from completing their ultimate goal, winning an NBA championship.
Winning a title is the one and only goal the Warriors have had since the start of the season. Anything less than that is considered a bust, which means this team has to come together finish this journey that stated in late October. You can’t win a championship without having a group of players that are willing to come together as a team and sacrifice individual goals and that is exactly what this team has done.
With the addition of Kevin Durant this Summer, other players have had to take a lesser role and in other cases that has caused problems. However, the Warriors have not had that issue and while they are not worried about individual awards, they are still worthy of being recognized.
Today, the NBA announced their All-NBA Teams and three Warriors were selected. Steph Curry and Kevin Durant were both named to the All-NBA Second Team, while Draymond Green was honored by making the All-NBA Third Team. This is the third team three Warriors have been named to the All-NBA team.
While this is a huge honor, you can’t help but wonder why the team with the best record didn’t have a single All-NBA First Team Selection. You could argue that two former MVP’s and arguably the Defensive Player of the Year were snubbed. Although Green was named to the third team, you could argue he deserves a first team selection given his versatility and the way he impacts the game on both ends of the floor.
Regardless of what you think, you can bet the Warriors are not too worried about it. At the end of the day, the Larry O’Brien Trophy is the only award they care about. First the Warriors must take care of the Spurs and there is a collision course set for the Warriors and Cavs to meet for a third straight time in June.
Here is the full press release from the Warriors:
OAKLAND, CA – Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry and forwards Kevin Durant and Draymond Green have been named to the 2016-17 All-NBA Team, with Curry and Durant earning Second Team honors and Green garnering Third Team accolades, the NBA announced today. The three players are the third Warriors trio to be named to the All-NBA Team in the same season, joining Curry, Green & Klay Thompson in 2015-16 and Paul Arizin, Neil Johnston and Jack George in 1955-56. Curry is the first Warrior to be named to four-straight All-NBA teams since Chris Mullin from 1988-89 to 1991-92. The Warriors are the only franchise to have multiple players named to the 2016-17 All-NBA Team.
Curry, Durant and Green helped lead the Warriors to an NBA-best record of 67-15 in 2016-17, making the Warriors the first team in NBA history to win at least 67 games in three consecutive regular seasons (67, 73, 67). The Warriors became the first team to own the league’s best record outright in three-straight seasons since the Boston Celtics did so from 1983-84 to 1985-86.
Curry earned his fourth career All-NBA honor after averaging a team-high 25.3 points per game (10th in the NBA) to go with 6.6 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 1.81 steals (seventh) in 33.4 minutes over 79 games. The reigning back-to-back MVP became the first Warrior to score at least 25 points per game in consecutive seasons since Chris Mullin did so in five-straight seasons from 1988-89 to 1992-93. Curry led the league in three-point field goals for a fifth consecutive year, following his NBA-record 402 threes in 2015-16 with 316 triples in 2016-17, and now ranks 10th on the NBA’s all-time three-point list (1,907 threes) while owning four of the top five single-season three-point totals in league history. The eighth-year guard, who was named a starter on the Western Conference All-Star team for a fourth consecutive season, set an NBA single-game record with 13 three-pointers on Nov. 7 vs. New Orleans.
Durant earned his seventh career All-NBA selection, compiling averages of 25.1 points (13th), a career-high 8.3 rebounds, 4.8 assists, a career-high 1.60 blocks (ninth) and 1.06 steals in 33.4 minutes over 62 games. Durant hit a career-best 53.7 percent from the field and became the first Warrior to average at least 25 points and eight rebounds per game since Rick Barry did so in 1966-67. Durant and Curry were the first teammates in Warriors history to both average at least 25 points per game in the same season. The 2013-14 Most Valuable Player earned his eighth career All-Star nod, starting alongside Curry to mark the first time since fan voting was introduced in 1975 that two Warriors were voted by the fans to start the All-Star Game. In a season-high 40-point performance on Jan. 18 vs. Oklahoma City, Durant became the first Warrior in the Shot Clock Era (since 1954-55) to record a 40-point game on 16 or fewer field goal attempts.
Green earned his second career All-NBA accolade after averaging 10.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 1.38 blocks in 32.5 minutes over 76 games, while leading the league with a career-high 2.03 steals. Green became the first player to tally averages of at least 10 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, two steals and one block over the course of a season since blocks and steals were first recorded in 1973-74, while becoming the first player in Warriors history to total at least 150 steals and 100 blocks in a single campaign. Green recorded five triple-doubles on the season, becoming the first player in NBA history to record a triple-double without scoring in double figures on Feb. 10 at Memphis when he tallied 11 rebounds, 10 assists and a career-high and franchise-record 10 steals. Green was named to the Western Conference All-Star team for a second consecutive season.
The All-NBA Teams were chosen by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters in 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. Voters were asked to select two guards, two forwards and one center for each team, choosing players at the position they play regularly. Players who received votes at multiple positions were slotted at the position where they received the most votes.
Other players receiving votes, with point totals (First Team votes in parentheses): Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota, 50 (2); Chris Paul, L.A. Clippers, 49; Marc Gasol, Memphis, 48 (2); DeMarcus Cousins, New Orleans, 42 (2); Paul George, Indiana, 40; Gordon Hayward, Utah, 27; Hassan Whiteside, Miami, 18; Kyrie Irving, Cleveland, 14; Klay Thompson, Golden State, 14; Nikola Jokic, Denver, 12 (1); Damian Lillard, Portland, 12; Paul Millsap, Atlanta, 3; LaMarcus Aldridge, San Antonio, 1; Blake Griffin, LA Clippers, 1; Al Horford, Boston, 1.
For more information on the Golden State Warriors 2017 Playoffs, presented by Kaiser Permanente, visit warriors.com.