All-NBA Second-Team Predictions
G: Damian Lillard – Portland Trail Blazers
Another season, another year where Damian Lillard, a.k.a. Dame Dolla cannot be stopped! The Blazers have hit some roadblocks along the way this season, but all season long, Lillard has been dominant once again, as this will be the 6th consecutive season that he has scored 25+ PPG on the year.
C.J. McCollum went down with an injury earlier in the year that kept him out over a month, yet Lillard carried the Blazers during this time and as a result, they will find themselves in the playoff picture out West once again.
This year, Lillard made his 4th consecutive All-Star appearance and outside of Curry and Doncic, there are not really any other better point guards in the league.
Dame may be the best pure scorer in the league, which is why he should be the first guard picked for the All-NBA Second-Team, assuming he does not make First-Team.
G: Chris Paul – Phoenix Suns
While he may not have the stats that most guys on the All-NBA list have, Chris Paul has been the most important player in the NBA this season for the Phoenix Suns. He is the best leader in the entire league and what he has done in Phoenix is quite remarkable.
Paul is one of the main reasons the Phoenix Suns will not only snap their 10-year playoff drought, but he is one of the main reasons why they currently have one of the best records in the NBA.
Not only has he been dominant offensively for them as a scorer and facilitator, but Chris Paul’s defense has been one of the most underrated aspects of this Suns team.
Paul has played himself into the MVP conversation this year given the impact he has had on the Suns, which is also why he will make the All-NBA list for the 10th time in his career, joining the likes of 25 other players in NBA history to make 10+ All-NBA teams, all of which are currently or soon-to-be Hall-of-Famers.
F: Kawhi Leonard – Los Angeles Clippers
You could make an argument for Kawhi Leonard being named to the Third-Team, but nonetheless, Kawhi Leonard is an All-NBA performer this year.
He has only played in 49 games due to injury, but once again, this Clippers team is going to go as far as Leonard is able to take them and he has been a huge reason why they have been so successful this year.
Leonard is averaging 25.0 points, 6.6 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.6 steals this season while also shooting 51.6% from the floor and 39.6% from three-point range. Both of these shooting stats are the best of his career since the first time he made the All-Star game in 2015-16.
The Clippers are 34-15 with Leonard on the court and just 11-7 without him, which is why he is such a key piece of their potential championship run this year.
F: Jayson Tatum – Boston Celtics
Jayson Tatum has been having as good of a year as anybody else in this league, which is why he deserves to make the All-NBA Second-Team this year. While the Celtics have struggled, Tatum has turned himself into a NBA superstar given how dominant he has been.
On the season, Tatum is averaging 26.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 4.4 assists and is shooting 45.6% from the floor, 38.5% from three-point range. All of the Celtics success this season is mainly because of Jayson Tatum and this season has been historic for him.
He scored a career-high 60 points against the San Antonio Spurs at the end of April, tying Larry Bird’s legendary Celtics’ record for most points in a game by a Celtics’ player. There is no stopping Tatum once he gets in his zone this year, making him one of the most dominant players in the league this season.
C: Rudy Gobert – Utah Jazz
People do not give Rudy Gobert as much credit as he deserves, yet he is arguably the most important player on the Utah Jazz. All season long, Gobert has been an essential piece of Utah’s success, mainly because of how good he is defensively.
When he retires, Gobert may go down as the greatest defensive big man of All-Time, especially since he will likely win his third Defensive Player of the Year award this season, joining the likes of Dikembe Mutombo (4), Ben Wallace (4) and Dwight Howard as the only players in NBA history with 3+ Defensive Player of the Year Awards.
Gobert leads the league in blocks, was named to his second-consecutive All-Star game this year and is a guy that teams tend to play away from if they can avoid it, which is why he is one of the most dominant centers in the league today.
