NBA NEWS - MVP KOBE BRYANT HIGHLIGHTS ALL-NBA FIRST TEAM - May 2008

Kobe Bryant NBA First team - NBA photo Dwight Howard NBA First team - NBA photo Chris Paul NBA Fisrt team - Business Wire photo

The lone unanimous selection, Bryant earns First Team honors for the third straight season and fifth time in his career. Dwight Howard, Chris Paul Earn First All-NBA First Team Honors

NEW YORK,, NY USA - Saturday May 10, 2008

NBA Most Valuable Player Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers headlines the First Team, as the NBA announced the 2007-08 All-NBA Teams. Bryant is joined on the First Team by Kevin Garnett of the Boston Celtics, Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic, LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets.

The lone unanimous selection, Bryant earns First Team honors for the third straight season and fifth time in his career. Winner of the 2007-08 NBA Most Valuable Player, presented by Kia Motors, Bryant ranked second in the NBA in scoring at 28.3 points per game to go along with averages of 6.3 assists and 5.3 rebounds. Bryant led the Lakers to the best record in the Western Conference (57-25, .695), a 15-game improvement over last year (42-40, .512), and the franchise’s 19th Pacific Division title.

Garnett, winner of the 2007-08 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award, presented by Kia Motors, led the Celtics with 9.2 rebounds per game to go along with averages of 18.8 points and 3.8 assists. In Garnett’s first season in Boston, the Celtics had the league’s best record (66-16) and enjoyed a 42-game turnaround from the previous season, the largest single-season turnaround in NBA history. This is Garnett’s fourth First Team selection.

Howard, an All-NBA Third Team selection last season, led the league in rebounding (14.2 rpg), and paced the Magic in scoring (20.7 ppg) and blocked shots (2.2 bpg). He recorded an NBA-high 69 double-doubles, including eight 20-20 games. Howard led the Magic to its first division title since 1995-96.

James won his first scoring title (30.0 ppg) and became one of only three players in NBA history – joining Michael Jordan and Oscar Robertson -- to average at least 30.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.0 assists in a season. This season, James became the youngest player to score 10,000 career points. He earned First Team honors for the second time in his career.

Paul earns his first All-NBA selection after leading the New Orleans Hornets to their first Southwest Division title and the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. Paul paced the league in assists (11.6 apg) and steals (2.7 spg), becoming the first player since John Stockton in 1992 to lead the NBA in both categories the same season. He also averaged a team-high 21.1 points per game.

The All-NBA Second Team consists of Phoenix’s Steve Nash and Utah’s Deron Williams at guard; San Antonio’s Tim Duncan and Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki at forward; and Phoenix’s Amaré Stoudemire at center.

The All-NBA Third Team includes San Antonio’s Manu Ginobili and Houston’s Tracy McGrady at guard; Utah’s Carlos Boozer and Boston’s Paul Pierce at forwards; and Houston’s Yao Ming at center.

The All-NBA Teams were chosen by a panel of 127 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout 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.

2007-08 ALL-NBA FIRST TEAM

2007-08 ALL-NBA SECOND TEAM

2007-08 ALL-NBA THIRD TEAM

Other players receiving votes, with point totals (first team votes in parentheses): Allen Iverson, Denver, 116; Carmelo Anthony, Denver, 89; Marcus Camby, Denver, 59; Chauncey Billups, Detroit, 38; Baron Davis, Golden State, 32; David West, New Orleans, 24; Rasheed Wallace, Detroit, 22; Tyson Chandler, New Orleans, 18; Antawn Jamison, Washington, 15; Al Jefferson, Minnesota, 14; Chris Bosh, Toronto, 11; Joe Johnson, Atlanta 8; Andre Miller, Philadelphia, 7; Caron Butler, Washington, 5; Shaquille O'Neal, Phoenix, 5; Pau Gasol, Los Angeles Lakers, 5; Kevin Martin, Sacramento, 4; Ray Allen, Boston, 4; Hedo Turkoglu, Orlando, 3; Jason Kidd, Dallas, 2; Josh Howard, Dallas, 2; Richard Hamilton, Detroit, 2; Andre Iguodala, Philadelphia, 1; Brandon Roy, Portland, 1; Michael Redd, Milwaukee, 1; Tayshaun Prince, Detroit, 1; Tony Parker, San Antonio, 1.

(NBA)