Harden, Antetokounmpo, Jokic make 2019 All-NBA First Team

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The NBA on Thursday revealed the 2019 All-NBA Teams. Giannis Antetokounmpo from the Milwaukee Bucks, James Harden from the Houston Rockets, Stephen Curry from the Golden State Warriors, Paul George from the Oklahoma City Thunder and Nikola Jokic from the Denver Nuggets made the First Team.

Best five go to First Team

James Harden (#13) of the Houston Rockets and Giannis Antetokounmpo (#34) of the Milwaukee Bucks /VCG Photo

Both Antetokounmpo and Harden were selected unanimously, and they deserved each of the 100 First Team votes with their incredible performances in the regular season. The Greek Freak averaged 27.7 points (No. 3 in the league), 12.5 rebounds (No. 6) and 5.9 assists per game, helping the Bucks claim 60 wins to rank No. 1 in the league. This was also Antetokounmpo's first time being selected to the All-NBA First Team.

This is Harden's third consecutive and fifth overall appearance on the First Team. He averaged 36.7 points in the regular season, claiming his second straight NBA scoring title while leading Houston to the Western Conference semifinals.

Stephen Curry (#30) of the Golden State Warriors and Paul George (#13) of the Oklahoma City Thunder /VCG Photo

George rounded out his best season with career highs in four categories: points per game (28), rebounds (8.2), steals (2.2) and three-pointers made (292). He had seven 40+ point games, 32 30+ point games and carried the Thunder on his shoulders in February and March.

Curry had another remarkable regular season, which somehow went under the radar. Curry's 27.3 points per game was the second highest average in his career, only behind his unanimous MVP season. Curry buried a career-high 5.1 three-pointers per game and made at least 10 in six games, another record in NBA history. Besides, let's remember this, he did it with the following two teammates: Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant.

Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets /VCG Photo

Jokic defined what a center should look like in today's new era with his complete performance. Not only did he have the league's second-most triple-doubles (12) behind OKC's Russell Westbrook (34), he did it before the NBA All-Star Game in February. More importantly, Jokic contributed his beautiful numbers to the Nuggets, who ranked second in the West. Selecting him into the First Team seemed a fair reward.

They're Second Teamers for a reason

(From left to right) Kawhi Leonard of the Toronto Raptors, Kevin Durant of the Golden State Warriors, Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers, Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers and Kyrie Irving of the Boston Celtics make the 2019 All-NBA Second Team. /VCG Photo

Damian Lillard from the Portland Trail Blazers, Kevin Durant from the Golden State Warriors, Kawhi Leonard from the Toronto Raptors, Joel Embiid from the Philadelphia 76ers and Kyrie Irving from the Boston Celtics made the 2019 All-NBA Second Team.

One thing that must be pointed out is that the All-NBA Teams only consider players' regular season performances. This explains why certain players are on the Second Team despite their incredible work during the playoffs.

(From left to right) Kawhi Leonard of the Toronto Raptors, Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers and Kevin Durant of the Golden State Warriors /VCG Photo

Lillard, Leonard and Durant fall into this category. Compared to their postseason feats, all three players were just great instead of epic during the regular season. Lillard led the Trail Blazers alongside C.J. McCollum; Leonard did not handle the ball that much; Durant was already famous for not taking the regular season serious enough.

Irving and Embiid had different or opposite stories. Both seemed to be ready to lead their teams in the regular season and had several signature games that helped build their reputations. However, the playoffs let the cat out of the bag. Irving struggled with his shooting and in-game decision-making, while Embiid exposed all of his weaknesses on offense. Both should be held responsible for the knockout of the Celtics and the 76ers respectively.

Maybe there are better choices for Third Team

(From left to right) Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz, Blake Griffin of the Detroit Pistons, Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Kemba Walker of the Charlotte Hornets and LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers make the 2019 All-NBA Third Team. /VCG Photo

LeBron James from the Los Angeles Lakers, Blake Griffin from the Detroit Pistons, Rudy Gobert from the Utah Jazz, Kemba Walker from the Charlotte Hornets and Russell Westbrook from the Oklahoma City Thunder made the 2019 All-NBA Third Team.

Rudy Gobert (L) of the Utah Jazz and Kemba Walker of the Charlotte Hornets /VCG Photo

Gobert and Walker got exactly what they deserved. The French center remained one of the best defenders in the league and made the 2019 NBA All-Defense First Team for the third straight time. However, his lack of offensive ability hindered his ability to be a team leader.

Walker further improved his scoring this season, averaging 25.6 points per game and burying in total 260 three-pointers. The two games in which he scored 103 points were also impressive. However, he failed to lead the Hornets to the playoffs.

Blake Griffin (L) of the Detroit Pistons and LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers /VCG Photo

James and Griffin were held back by bad luck. Though James averaged 27.4 points, 8.5 rebounds and 8.3 assists per game, he only played 55 games this season and once missed 17 straight games, the longest stretch in his career. Meanwhile, the soap opera that has been going on at the management level of the Lakers contributed to the failed season.

As for Griffin, in his first relatively healthy season in five years, he averaged 24.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.4 assists, helping the Pistons enter the playoffs. Nonetheless, Griffin's teammates failed to return the favor. The team's lack of qualified shooters and a reliable second-in-command ruined their hopes for better rankings.

Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder /VCG Photo

Westbrook's selection raised the most eyebrows: Does he really deserve a spot in the All-NBA Teams? Though he reduced his shots intentionally, it did not help him improve his pathetic efficiency – it actually got worse. Moreover, more and more began to wonder if Westbrook was stat-stuffing. In today's OKC, George seemed more like the one who wanted to help the team win.

Making All-NBA Teams means more money and vice versa

(From left to right) Kemba Walker of the Charlotte Hornets, Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks and Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers can sign big contracts after making the 2019 All-NBA Teams. /VCG Photo

Antetokounmpo, Lillard and Walker are hopeful of signing super contracts after their selection.

Walker will become a free agent this summer. By making the Third Team, he qualifies for the Designated Veteran Player Rule and thus could sign at most a five-year, 221-million-U.S.-dollar contract with Charlotte.

This is Lillard's second time on an All-NBA Team in the past three years, meaning he is also able to negotiate an early contract extension with Portland this summer when there are two years of his 62-million-U.S.-dollar contract left. Rip City can offer him at most a four-year, 190-million-U.S.-dollar extension.

Antetokounmpo has the most to celebrate. When he discusses his new contract with Milwaukee in the summer of 2020, the Greek Freak is hopeful of getting a five-year, 247-million-U.S.-dollar extension, the biggest in NBA history, also partly thanks to the growth of the salary cap.

(From left to right) Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors and Bradley Beal of the Washington Wizards will lose money for not making the 2019 All-NBA Teams. /VCG Photo

Failing to make the All-NBA Teams can also cost money. Bradley Beal from the Washington Wizards played the best season in his career with 25.6 points, five rebounds and 5.5 assists per game. His numbers were good enough to put him into the All-Star Game but not great enough to place him on an All-NBA Team, meaning that he's not qualified for the Designated Veteran Player Rule. Luckily, Beal's contract with the Wizards will come due in the summer of 2021, leaving him another year to fight for a super contract.

Klay Thompson of the Warriors was not that lucky. Having failed to make the All-NBA Team, he lost the opportunity to sign a super contract with the team this summer. The good news is the Warriors are still willing to offer the best they can to keep Thompson.

Compared with the above two who lost the opportunity to make big money, Karl-Anthony Towns literally lost money for not being selected into the All-NBA Teams. He failed to meet the "Rose Clause" and thus has to watch his five-year contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves shrink from 190 million U.S. dollars to 158 million.