Wake Forest Athletics
Duncan and Paul Named to All-NBA Teams
5/22/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By Josh Gresh, Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@TyeDyeNation)
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Former Wake Forest All-Americans Tim Duncan and Chris Paul were named to the 2015 All-NBA Team and All-NBA Defensive Team, as announced by the league on Thursday afternoon.
With two alums being selected, Wake Forest is tied with Kentucky for the most-represented college on the All-NBA Team. Kentucky also had two selections which included Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins. The Demon Deacons have two of the three former ACC players selected, with the third being Duke's Kyrie Irving. On the All-Defensive Team, Wake Forest was also tied with Kentucky with two selections. The Wildcats have John Wall and Anthony Davis representing them on the team.
Duncan was named to the All-NBA Team for the 15th time in his career, tying Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Kobe Bryant for most All-NBA selections in league history. In addition to being named to the All-NBA Third Team, Duncan also was named to the All-NBA Defensive Second Team, his 15th All-Defensive selection of his career.
For Paul, the All-NBA selection is the seventh of his career, after being named to the Second Team. The point guard earned an All-Defensive First Team selection for the fourth consecutive season and fifth overall All-Defensive Team selection.
Duncan averaged 13.9 points, 9.1 rebounds, 3 assists and 1.96 blocks in 28.9 minutes this season. He became the first player in league history to average at least 13 points and 9 rebounds for an entire season at age 38 or older. This season, Duncan has hit a number of milestones, including most career NBA Playoff double-doubles, and became the fifth player in NBA history to reach 5,000 career postseason points. Duncan also earned his 15th-career All-Star selection.
The Spurs have made the playoffs every year since Duncan joined the team. The 18-year run is the longest active streak in the NBA. San Antonio also has won at least 50 games a season in each of the last 16 seasons, a league record.
Paul finished the 2014-15 season averaging 19.1 points, an NBA-leading 10.2 assists, and 1.9 steals per game for the Los Angeles Clippers. He led the NBA in assists per game for the fourth time in his career, and finished fifth in the league in steals per game. His 90 percent free-throw percentage was fifth-best in the league. Paul was named an NBA All-Star for the eighth time in his career.
