In the lead-up to the 2019-20 NBA season, our NBA.com Staff will be rolling out predictions for each end of season award.
Today, we're focusing on first-team All-NBA.
Who will make it? Who will get snubbed? There can only be five. Our experts debate.
Carlan Gay (@TheCarlanGay): My five picks for the All-NBA First team:
PG: Damian Lillard
SG: James Harden
SF: Kawhi Leonard
PF: Giannis Antetokounmpo
C: Joel Embiid
I'm going with Damian Lillard over Stephen Curry at my point guard spot. The Blazers didn't make as many moves as the rest of the Western Conference, but the motivation of being a series win away from his first Finals appearance — Lillard is going to terrorize the league. James Harden is going to be James Harden.
Kawhi Leonard is the best player in the league — period. Giannis Antetokounmpo isn't getting any worse and Joel Embiid will be focused all year long to claim the center spot.
I don't think anyone will really poke holes in my choices, but let me say it again for emphasis: Damian Lillard is going to tear the league apart this year.
Scott Rafferty (@crabdribbles): I disagree somewhat with Carlan. Here are my five for All-NBA First Team:
PG: Stephen Curry
SG: James Harden
SF: Kawhi Leonard
PF: Giannis Antetokounmpo
C: Nikola Jokic
I know he didn't make the All-NBA First Team last season, but it still feels weird to leave LeBron James off of this. I just think Kawhi Leonard is going to have a monster regular season and that James will be on cruise control to keep himself as fresh as possible for the playoffs. He'll still be All-NBA worthy — LeBron's "cruise control" is still better than 99 percent of the league — just maybe not First Team.
And that's probably for the best considering this will be his age 35 season.
The rest of the picks weren't as difficult for me. Curry is still the best point guard in the NBA and there's a good chance he'll lead the league in scoring and be an MVP candidate. The same goes for Harden, who has led the league in scoring in each of the last two seasons and is a staple in the MVP conversation.
Anthony Davis could give Antetokounmpo a run for the power forward spot, but I'm expecting Antetokounmpo to repeat as MVP this season. It's a similar case for Joel Embiid and Jokic — Embiid will give him a run for his money, but I'm high on Jokic's MVP case this season, so much so that I think he's the clear No. 2.
Micah Adams (@MicahAdams13): My head hurts.
G: Stephen Curry, James Harden
F: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Anthony Davis
C: Nikola Jokic
The forwards are absolutely ridiculous and that's even with Kevin Durant missing the whole season. While I legitimately think LeBron James is still the best player on the Lakers, I think Anthony Davis will ultimately have numbers that just keep it impossible to leave him off. Is a 30-13-5 season while leading the league in blocks in play? Yes!
If Giannis leads the league in scoring — as I fully expect him to on a Bucks team that could flirt with 60 wins — he's likewise a lock.
There is certainly a world in which Davis gets the nod at centre which allows for James to slide in, but I think Denver is going to win too many games to keep Jokic off the first team. He just dropped 25-13-8 in the playoffs and if he comes close to replicating that in the regular season on a Nuggets team that finishes ahead of the Lakers, there's just no way he's getting passed over to make room for both superstars in purple and gold.
Leandro Fernandez (@FernandezLea): Here we go...
PG: Stephen Curry
SG: James Harden
SF: Kawhi Leonard
PF: Giannis Antetokounmpo
C: Nikola Jokic
Leaving LeBron James out of this is hard, but at the same time it seems easy when you pick the other two forwards. Giannis will be leading a possible No. 1 seed while tapping into the other 40 percent of his potential, which is a terrifying thought. Kawhi Leonard, meanwhile, is coming from one of the best playoffs run ever. Curry and Harden are locks.
And The Joker's show will go on.
Kyle Irving (@KyleIrv_): I'm going to regret leaving LeBron James off this list, aren't I?
G: Stephen Curry
G: James Harden
F: Giannis Antetokounmpo
F: Anthony Davis
C: Joel Embiid
I couldn't agree with Carlan more – Damian Lillard is going to once again prove he's one of the best leaders in the NBA by bringing the Blazers to the playoffs even though everyone is counting them out ... again. But I also believe that Stephen Curry is poised for a career-high in averaging over 30.1 points per game, winning the league's scoring title while making a run for MVP.
James Harden will continue to be James Harden – his numbers will be ridiculous, the Rockets are going to be a top team in the West and that'll be due in large part to his contributions.
Notice how I said "making a run for MVP" in regards to Curry. That's because The Greek Freak is winning back-to-back MVPs. He's a lock for All-NBA First Team.
Anthony Davis is going to be the focal point of the Lakers offence while also anchoring their defence on the way to Defensive Player of the Year. As we saw with Paul George last season, if you finish top-three in MVP and DPOY, you can't be left off the first team, and that's what I believe Davis will do this year.
It's hard to leave Kawhi Leonard off of the first team, especially if the Clippers don't plan to go with a "load management" approach, but my gut tells me he still won't play enough games to get the nod over Giannis or AD.
I'm riding with Joel Embiid over Nikola Jokic because Embiid is going to lead the 76ers to a top-two seed in the East and I think the lofty expectations surrounding the Nuggets could doom them.
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