More All-NBA voters put Clippers wing Paul George at forward than guard.
That’ll cost Celtics forward Jayson Tatum more than $25 million.*
Tatum received a not-nice-enough 69 voting points – more than All-NBA third-team guard Kyrie Irving (61). But because George (89) received more votes at forward, he took the last forward slot rather than the guard spot that went to Irving.
Who knows how voting would have gone without positional designations? Tatum wouldn’t have necessarily finished top 15. But the two-guard, two-forward, one-center designations are antiquated. Teams typically deploy a point guard, two wings, a forward (who could be another wing or more of a big) and a center. George, like many wings, really straddles the line between shooting guard and small forward. The distinction is negligible .
Except for award voting, when it makes $25 million of difference.
*During the first four years of his rookie-scale contract extension, before his very-possibly declined player option.
Full All-NBA voting with first-, second- and third-team votes and total voting points:
First team
Guard: Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors): 98-2-0-496
Guard: Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavericks): 55-41-4-402
Forward: Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks): 100-0-0-500
Forward: Kawhi Leonard (L.A. Clippers): 28-58-9-323
Center: Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets): 99-1-0-498
Second team
Guard: Damian Lillard (Portland Trail Blazers): 38-60-2-372
Guard: Chris Paul (Phoenix Suns): 23-62-10-311
Forward: Julius Randle (New York Knicks): 16-46-35-253
Forward: LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers): 2-44-32-174
Center: Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers): 28-70-2-352
Third team
Guard: Bradley Beal (Washington Wizards): 0-7-50-71
Guard: Kyrie Irving (Brooklyn Nets): 0-7-40-61
Forward: Jimmy Butler (Miami Heat): 7-26-18-131
Forward: Paul George (L.A. Clippers): 0-13-50-89
Center: Rudy Gobert (Utah Jazz): 0-26-70-148
Guards also receiving votes
Russell Westbrook (Washington Wizards): 1-6-21-44
James Harden (Brooklyn Nets): 2-3-22-41
Donovan Mitchell (Utah Jazz): 0-2-20-26
Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns): 0-3-12-21
Ben Simmons (Philadelphia 76ers): 0-0-2-2
Trae Young (Atlanta Hawks): 0-0-2-2
Zach LaVine (Chicago Bulls): 0-0-1-1
Forwards also receiving votes
Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics): 2-9-32-69
Zion Williamson (New Orleans Pelicans): 0-3-28-37
Kevin Durant (Brooklyn Nets): 1-4-6-23
Khris Middleton (Milwaukee Bucks): 0-0-1-1
Centers also receiving votes
Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat): 0-5-17-32
Clint Capela (Atlanta Hawks): 0-0-6-6
Domantas Sabonis (Indiana Pacers): 0-1-3-6
Anthony Davis (Los Angeles Lakers): 0-1-2-5
Nikola Vucevic (Chicago Bulls): 0-0-2-2
Draymond Green (Golden State Warriors): 0-0-1-1
Jayson Tatum misses out on $25M because more All-NBA voters put Paul George at F than G originally appeared on NBCSports.com