Jordan Spurgeon
The Suns are heading to the Western Conference Finals. As the team with the second best regular season record in the NBA. Yet only one player made an All-NBA or All-Defensive Team.
Chris Paul is on the second-team. Devin Booker isn’t. Mikal Bridges didn’t make an All-Defensive Team.
ππ₯π₯-πππ ππππ¨π§π ππππ¦
Congrats, @CP3! pic.twitter.com/NcNNnolWIy
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) June 16, 2021
It all began when Monty Williams placed second in coach of the year voting. Then when CP3 finished fifth in MVP voting. Now it concludes with the All-NBA selections.
Here’s the full list of players who made the teams.
The 2020-21 All-NBA First Team:
π Giannis Antetokounmpo
π Stephen Curry
π Luka DonΔiΔ
π Nikola JokiΔ
π Kawhi Leonard pic.twitter.com/WYSz2le2Be— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) June 16, 2021
Here is the 2020-21 All-NBA Second TeamΒ π₯
πΈ Damian Lillard
πΈ Joel EmbiidΒ
πΈ Chris Paul
πΈ Julius RandleΒ
πΈ LeBron James pic.twitter.com/1ll5mwzYvV— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) June 16, 2021
The 2020-21 All-NBA Third Team:
π Bradley Beal
π Jimmy Butler
π Paul George
π Rudy Gobert
π Kyrie Irving pic.twitter.com/s4aEK3ivcs— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) June 16, 2021
Booker finished 10th in votes among guards. Guards not on the list, but voted on more than him included Russell Westbrook, James Harden, and Donovan Mitchell. There are a lot of talented guards in the NBA, but Booker was the leading scorer for the second-best team in the NBA. That should hold more merit, but it obviously didn’t.
On defense, Bridges was elite posting a 111.7 defensive efficiency rating. All while taking on a teams best wing player every night, with no complaints. He wasn’t too upset about the snub on Twitter, as he’s ready to go further in the postseason.
Mannn its a blessing to even receive a good amount votes for any team ! At least we got they attention ππ€ we all good fellas lol congrats to everyone fr
— Mikal Bridges (@mikal_bridges) June 14, 2021
Move Past It
Yes the Suns should’ve received more recognition in the regular season awards process. However, as a youthful team on a mission to win a title, they need to make sure to look past the slights. At the end of the day, regular season awards don’t equate to playoff success. And after a decade of poor basketball, a championship will draw the national attention they deserve moving forward.
Despite not having the recognition, there’s still plenty of positives to look at. The fan base is all in on this team, even going to the airport to meet them following a second round sweep. You’ve got the Suns in 4 guy becoming a Phoenix legend. And they’re only eight games away from winning a title. That’s what teams truly play for.
Awards are nice, but rings are a little nicer.
