Selecting the 2014-15 All-NBA Teams

One of the best NBA seasons in recent memory is now behind us, and the collective focus of the basketball world has shifted toward the playoffs. However, there is a two-day lull between the end of the regular season (Wednesday night) and start of the playoffs (Saturday afternoon), and that provides a bit of a breather in order to digest what we just witnessed.

Earlier in the week, we brought you a “final ballot” of sorts when pertaining to the league’s individual awards, and following that, we graded each of the NBA’s 30 teams on how they performed this season. In this space, we will tackle the individuals in a different sense, instead assigning them to the three All-NBA teams and, in an indirect way, selecting the 15 players who stood out above the rest of the league during the 2014-2015 campaign.

In keeping with NBA protocol, we will assign two guards, two forwards and a center to each team, and we will attempt to avoid sneaking players in to inappropriate positions based on “need”. This is becoming increasingly difficult thanks to the league’s shift (at least in certain cities) toward position-less basketball, but it isn’t an impossible task.

Make no mistake, there were several players in contention for these 15 spots, and a number of them will garner mentions during the course of the explanations. Still, these teams represent the most impactful players from this season, and they should be recognized as such.

Without delay, let’s unveil the groups, beginning with the third team.

Next: Third Team